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A  Basis  h 

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THE   AMERICAN 
SPIRIT 

A  BASIS  FOR 
WORLD  DEMOCRACY 


EDITED  BY 
PAUL  MONROE,  Ph.D.,  LL.D. 

Director  School  of  Education 
Teachers  College,  Columbia  University 

AND 
IRVING  E.  MILLER,  Ph.D. 

Department  of  Education 

Washington  State  Normal  School 

Bellingham 


YONKERS-ON-HUDSON,  NEW  YORK 

WORLD   BOOK   COMPANY 
1920 


WORLt)  BOOK  COMPANY 

THE  HOUSE  OF  APPLIED  KNOWLEDGE    'T'lJ 
Established,  1905,  by  Caspar  W.  Hodgson         '^  '  7^^ 

YONKERS-ON-HUDSON,  NeW  YoRK  y/)  1    ^     . 

2126  Prairie  Avenue,  Chicago  '  x^ 

The  American  Spirit,  like  the  American 
people,  is  a  composite.  Discoverer,  ex- 
plorer, colonist,  pioneer,  frontiersman, 
immigrant,  through  social  selection  assure 
independence,  initiative,  dissatisfaction 
with  existing  attainments,  a  forward  look, 
a  confidence  in  the  powers  of  the  common 
man,  and  an  ideahstic  faith  in  his  worth  . 
and  destiny.  Self-government,  achieved 
through  patriotic  struggle  and  secured 
through  hard  experience,  confirms  them. 
Democracy  in  government,  preserved  from 
corruption  only  by  constant  vigilance  and 
continual  practice,  leads  to  social  democ- 
racy; the  two,  to  ideals  of  industrial 
democracy  yet  in  the  process  of  attain- 
ment. Through  civil  war,  ideals  of  na- 
tional unity  were  achieved  and  of  national 
destiny  were  confirmed.  Foreign  war  and 
the  compHcated  problems  of  modern  world 
diplomacy  enabled  the  nation  to  reject  an 
imperiahstic  pohcy  in  favor  of  one  of  gen- 
erosity and  humanity  towards  the  weaker 
nations,  of  justice  and  honor  among  its 
peers.  The  present  crisis  in  the  world's 
history  affords  the  supreme  test  of  these 
traits.  How  these  characteristics  have 
united  in  the  American  Spirit  is  briefly 
told  in  this  volume.  May  the  spirit  ex- 
pressed by  the  American  people  be  worthy 
of  the  sacrifices  of  our  fathers  and  the 
heroism  of  our  sons  I 


MMAS-4 


Copyright,  1918,  by  World  Book  Company 
All  rights  reserved 


INTRODUCTION 

The  past  four  years  have  been  critical  in  the  life  of 
our  country.  Repeatedly  the  question  has  been  asked 
whether  we  have  such  a  thing  as  a  national  conscious- 
ness. Have  the  many  nationahties  represented  in  our 
ancestry  and  in  our  naturaUzed  citizenship  been  welded 
together  into  one  unified  whole?  Has  the  "melting  pot" 
given  us  a  single  product,  or  only  a  loose  amalgamation 
which  is  ready  to  fall  apart  under  special  stress  and  ten- 
sion? Is  there  one  American  Spirit,  or  are  there  many 
and  divided  loyalties  ? 

M£my  insidious  attempts  have  been  made  in  the  past 
three  years  to  array  group  against  group  to  the  end  that 
we  might  not  present  a  solid  front  in  case  we  should  be 
drawn  into  the  world  conflict  as  partisans  of  democracy 
against  autocracy.  Fortunately  these  attempts  have  in 
large  part  failed.  Our  eyes  were  long  bUnded  as  to  the 
real  issues  of  the  European  War.  But  the  very  measures 
employed  to  confuse  us  and  to  take  advantage  of  our 
neutrality  have  gradually  brought  to  consciousness  and 
focused  the  American  Spirit  until  it  has  asserted  its  su- 
premacy over  hyphenism  of  every  sort.  Whatever  one 
may  think  about  the  original  causes  of  the  war  or  of  the 
aims  and  purposes  of  the  conflicting  nations,  we  now  see 
clearly  that  the  issue  at  the  present  time  is  that  of  making 
the  world  safe  for  democracy  in  a  world  which  autocracy 
seeks  to  dominate. 

While  we  have  no  doubt  at  the  present  time  that  our 
liberties  as  weU  as  those  of  other  democratic  nations  are 
at  stake,  the  slowness  with  which  the  American  Spirit 
has  been  aroused  to  consciousness  of  its  danger  and  the 
necessity  of  asserting  its  rights  has  compeUed  us  to  raise 
anew  the  question  of  education  with  reference  to  Ameri- 


48341)3 


iv  Introduction 

can  principles  and  patriotism.  We  see  now,  as  never 
before,  the  need  of  making  our  children  understand  and 
appreciate  the  American  Spirit  which  differentiates  us 
from  the  nations  of  the  Old  World. 

We  have  not  been  without  instruction  in  patriotism  in 
the  past,  but  it  came  too  largely  through  chance  occasions 
/  and  through  indirect  channels.     There  has  been  too  much 
V  spread-eagle  oratory  and  too  much  emotional  patriotism. 
There  has  been  plentiful  "twisting  of  the  lion's  tail"  and 
of  cultivation  of  the  impression  that  the  United  States 
can  "lick  any  country  on  earth."     Our  teaching  of  Ameri- 
I  can  history  has  often  been  narrow  and  one-sided.     Chil- 
dren have  been  left  with  an  erroneous  impression  of 
distrust  of  Great  Britain  and  antipathy  to  that  country. 
The  fact  is  often  ignored  that  there  was  a  democratic 
movement  in  England  as  well  as  in  the  Colonies  in  1776, 
and  that  great  patriots  there  challenged  the  autocratic 
ideas  and  practices  of  their  German  king,  George  III. 
The  democratic  movement  in  England  as  well  as  in  the 
Colonies  finally  won  the  victory.     Yet  we  spend  a  lot  of 
time  in  cherishing  an  ancient  wrong  instead  of  studying 
the  world-wide  progress  of  democracy.     Even  within  our 
own  national  life,  we  have  not  heeded  the  example  and 
the  wisdom  of  Lincoln,  but  have  permitted  an  undue 
emphasis  both  in  North  and  in  South  to  be  placed  on  the 
things  which  divided  us  fifty  years  ago  instead  of  exalt- 
ing the  things  which  unite  us  in  1918. 
/      While  the  crisis  through  which  we  have  been  passing 
/    has  emphasized  the  necessity  of  systematic  instruction 
I     in  American  ideals,  the  American  Spirit,  and  patriotism, 
I     this  instruction  must  go  farther  than  sentiments  and 
\    feelings :  it  must  have  in  it  something  constructive^    We 
must  inculcate  ideas  and  ideals  which  will  work  out  inlx) 


r 


Introduction 


everyday  life  and  citizenship,  which  apply  in  the  crises 
of  peace  as  well  as  in  those  of  war,  which  make  us  conscious 
of  the  rights  of  other  nations  as  well  as  of  our  own.  Let 
us  not  merely  glory  in  our  country  in  an  emotional  way, 
but  also  learn  how  we  may  best  serve  her ;  let  us  slough 
off  the  Idwer  and  more  sordid  national  ideals  and  strive 
to  perpetuate  and  to  propagate  those  which  are  highest 
and  best. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  ^little  reader,  the  attempt  i 
has  been  made  to  focus  attention  upon  Ihe  conslruetive  I 
aspect  of  patriotism.  Due  regard,  however,  has  been 
paid  to  certain  of  the  traditional  and  emotional  elements 
that  cannot  be  ignored.  That  which  tends  to  divide  us 
in  thought  from  one  another  or  from  the  other  democratic 
nations  has  been  largely  eUminated.  We  do  not  wish 
to  plant  the  seeds  of  distrust  of  other  nations,  nor  can  we 
afford  to  stress  the  literature  of  hatred.  We  want  a  whole- 
some and  sane  regard  for  our  own  country,  without  the 
development  of  undue  national  egotism.  We  want  our 
children  to  recognize  at  this  time  that  the  democratic 
movement  is  universal,  —  a  world  movement,  —  in  some 
places  struggling  under  a  crushing  burden  of  autocracy, 
in  others  expressing  itself  through  different  political 
forms  from  our  own,  but  everywhere  working  toward 
the  same  ends.  We  have  been  more  favorably  situated 
for  the  realization  of  democratic  ideals  than  others ;  we 
have  a  correspondingly  greater  obligation  to  be  true  to 
them  and  to  consider  all  other  peoples  who  aspire  to 
democratic  control  of  their  governments  as  our  brothers 
and  friends. 

There  is  something  in  the  long  history  of  our  pioneer 
life  that  everywhere  has  emphasized  freed^jn,  initiative, 
and  individuality.     From  the  time  of  Columbus  to  the 


vi  Introduction 

present  day  America  has  breathed  the  spirit  of  the  pioneer. 
To  us  "all  things  are  possible."  All  men,  regardless  of 
birth,  are  human  ;  all  are  divine.  The  spirit  of  idealism 
rests  hke  a  sunrise  glow  over  the  whole  land.  The  very 
air  we  breathe  is  that  of  opportunity  and  democracy. 
The  pubhc  school  makes  intelligence  common  property. 
Newspaper  and  magazine  are  brought  to  the  very  doors 
of  every  man.  Public  opinion  is  shaped  by  the  thought 
and  the  ideals  of  the  common  man;  we  feel  the  moral 
judgment  of  the  man  in  the  sod  hut  on  the  prairie,  the 
miner  in  his  mountain  cabin,  and  the  tenement  dweller 
of  the  great  city  as  well  as  that  of  the  college  professor, 
the  lawyer,  and  the  captain  of  industry.  There  is  some- 
thing inherent  in  our  life  that  binds  us  together  ultimately 
into  one  great  national  whole.  The  process  is  often  slow 
and  uncertain,  however,  and  it  has  been  left  too  much  to 
chance.  Even  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  old  Colonial 
stock  have  not  always  become  conscious  of  the  funda- 
mental principles  which  differentiate  a  democratic  social 
order  from  one  which  is  autocratic  in  principle.  We  need 
as  never  before  in  home,  church,  and  school  to  make  sure 
that  the  rising  generation  gets  a  correct  impression  of 
the  real  American  Spirit.  It  is  hoped  that  this  volume 
may  be  found  useful  in  this  task. 

The  Editors 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

The  editors  and  publishers  wish  to  express  their  appreci- 
ation of  courteous  permission  received  from  publishers, 
authors,  and  others  for  use  of  selections  as  follows : 

The  Adjutant  General's  Office,  United  States  War  Depart- 
ment, for  "Flag  Etiquette,"  by  General  H.  P.  McCain. 

The  Atlantic  Monthly  Company  and  the  author  for  "Western 
Idealism"  and  "The  Influence  of  the  West  upon  Democracy,"  by 
Frederick  Jackson  Turner. 

Emily  Greene  Balch  for  the  translation  of  "Ode  to  Columbia," 
by  Hurban  Vajansky. 

Barse  and  Hopkins,  New  York,  for  "Carry  On!"  by  Robert  W. 
Service. 

The  Bobbs-Merrill  Company,  Indianapolis,  for  "  Our  Kind  of  a 
Man"  and  "The  Name  of  Old  Glory,"  by  James  Whitcomb  Riley; 
"A  Song  for  Flag  Day,"  by  Wilbur  Dick  Nesbit;  and  "One  Coun- 
try," by  Frank  L.  Stanton.     . 

The  Century  Company,  New  York,  for  "The  Character  of  Wash- 
ington," by  Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  and  "The  Loyalty  of  the  Foreign 
Born,"  by  M.  E.  Ravage. 

The  Christian  Work,  New  York,  for  editorial  on  "The  Higher 
Patriotism." 

Thomas  Y.  Crowell  Company,  New  York,  for  "General  Grant's 
Greatest  Victory,"  by  Elbridge  S.  Brooks,  and  "America  the  Beau- 
tiful," by  Katharine  Lee  Bates. 

M.  A.  Donahue  &  Co.,  Chicago,  for  "  Aristokrats,"  by  Josh  Billings. 

The  Dresden  Publishing  Company,  New  York,  for  "Abraham 
Lincoln,"  by  R.  G.  Ingersoll. 

John  H.  Finley  for  address  on  "The  Thirtieth  Mtm." 


viii  Acknowledgments 

Samuel  Gompers  for  "Labor  and  Democracy"  and  "The  Prussian 
Menace,"  from  Declarations  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor. 

Harper  &  Brothers,  New  York,  for  "Wheeler  at  Santiago,"  by 
Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  and  "The  American  Republic"  and  "The 
Moral  Quahty  in  Patriotism,"  by  George  William  Curtis. 

Harvard  University  Press,  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  for  "Our 
Pan-American  Policy,"  by  EUhu  Root. 

Archbishop  John  Ireland  for  address  on  "The  Duty  and  Value  of 
Patriotism." 

Otto  H.  Kahn  for  "America's  Cause  and  the  Foreign-Born  Citizen" 
and  " The  Poison  Growth  of  Prussianism." 

V^RANKLiN  Knight  Lane  for  address  on  "The  Makers  of  the  Flag." 

Little,  Brown  &  Co.,  Boston,  for  poem  "Columbus,"  by  Edward 
Everett  Hale. 

The  McClure  Company,  New  York,  for  "The  Foreigner  in  a 
Democracy,"  by  Carl  Schurz. 

David  McKay,  Philadelphia,  for  "0  Captain!  My  Captain!"  by 
Walt  Whitman. 

The  Macmillan  Company,  New  York,  for  "Lincoln's  Sympathy," 
by  Ida  M.  Tarbell,  and  "The  Making  of  an  American,"  by  Jacob 
Riis. 

Harriet  Monroe  for  poem  on  "Democracy." 

The  New  York  Sun  for  "Cub  Sawbones,"  by  Sydney  Reid,  and 
"Wheeler  at  Santiago,"  by  James  Lindsay  Gordon. 

G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  New  York,  for  "America  First,"  by  Theodore 
Roosevelt,  and  "When  the  Great  Gray  Ships  Come  In,"  by  Guy 
Wetmore  Carryl. 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company,  New  York,  for  "From  AUen  to 
Citizen"  and  "Confessing  the  Hyphen,"  by  Edward  A.  Steiner. 


Acknowledgments  ix 

Theodore  Roosevelt  for  "Americanism,"  "America  First,*'  and 
"With  Firmness  in  the  Right." 

The  Roycroft  Press  for  "A  Message  to  Garcia,"  by  Elbert  Hub- 
bard. 

Carl  L.  Schurz  for  "The  Foreigner  in  a  Democracy,"  by  Carl 
Schurz. 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  New  York,  for  "The  Founding  of 
Jamestown,"  by  Thomas  iVelson  Page;  "Martial  Valor  in  Times 
of  Peace,"  by  John  Grier  Hibben ;  and  "America  for  Me,"  by  Henry 
van  Dyke. 

Edwin  Du  Bois  Shurter  for  "The  Homes  of  the  People,"  by 
Henry  W.  Grady. 

Henry  D.  Sleeper  for  "When  the  Great  Gray  Ships  Come  In,"  by 
Guy  Wetmore  Carryl. 

Harr  Wagner  Publishing  Company,  San  Francisco,  for  poems 
"Columbus"  and  "The  Exodus  for  Oregon,"  by  Joaquin  Miller. 

Henry  Watterson  for  address  on  "How  'The  Star-Spangled 
Banner'  Was  Written." 

The  selections  from  John  Fiske,  James  Russell  Lowell,  John  Green- 
leaf  Whittier,  Richard  Watson  Gilder,  Henry  Cabot  Lodge  (on 
page  86),  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  John  Hay,  Edmund  Clarence 
Stedman,  Abraham  Mitrie  Rihbany,  and  Henry  Wadsworth  Long- 
fellow are  used  by  permission  of  and  by  special  arrangement  with 
Houghton  Mifflin  Company,  Boston,  authorized  publishers  of 
their  works. 


i 


CONTENTS 

I.  THE  PIONEER  SPIRIT 

PAGS 

Columbus Joaquin  Miller 1 

Columbus Edward  Everett  Hale 2 

To  the  Virginian  Voyage     Michael  Drayton 3 

The  Founding  of  James- 
town     Thomas  Nelson  Page 6 

The  North  and  the  South 

One  in  Their  Origin     .     JohnFiske 7 

The  Puritans    ....  Thomas  Babington  Max:aulay  ...  11 

The  Landing  of  the  Pil- 
grims    Felicia  Dorothea  Browne  Hemans      .  14 

The    First    Landing    at 

Plymouth      ....     William  Bradford 16 

New   England   Civiliza- 
tion       James  Russell  Lowell 18 

The  Quaker  of  the  Olden  — 

Time John  Greenleaf  Whittier 23 

God  Makes  a  Path      .     .    Roger  Williams 24 

Western  Idealism  .     .     .  Frederick  Jackson  Turner   ....  25 

The  Exodus  for  Oregon  .     Joaquin  Miller 29 

II.  TWO  GREAT  AMERICANS 

Washington      ....  Lord  George  Gordon  Byron  ....  33 
The  Character  of  Wash- 
ington   Henry  Cabot  Lodge 33 

Washington      ....  James  Russell  Lowell      .....  36 

Counsels  of  Washington     George  Washington 37 

Abraham  Lincoln  .     .     .     James  Russell  Lowell 43 

Sayings  of  Lincoln      .     .     L.  Lamprey 45 

Lincoln's  Sympathy  .     .     Ida  M.  Tarbell 50 

Lincoln  a  Typical  Amer- 
ican      Phillips  Brooks 51 

Abraham  Lincoln  .     .     .     Robert  G.  Ingersoll 54 

Lincoln's  Birthplace  .     .     Woodrow  Wilson 56 

Abraham  Lincoln  .     .     .     Tom  Taylor 58 

O  Captain!     My  Cap- 
tain ! Walt  Whitman ........  61 

The  Gettysburg  Address    Abraham  Lincoln 62 

xi 


xii  Contents 

III.   CHARACTERISTIC   IDEALS 

(1)  The  Faith  of  the  Fathers 

Characteristics  of  Amer-  pagb 

;       ica Benjamin  Franklin 65 

H  Pitt's  Last  Speech      .     .  William  Pitt,  Earl  of  Chatham      .     .      67 

What  is  Patriotism  ?  .     .     Fisher  Ames 68 

4  Liberty  or  Death  .     .     .     Patrick  Henry 70 

Government  in  the  In- 
terest of  All  .     .     .     .  Declaration  of  Independence     ...       72 
Faith   in    Our    Govern- 

\       ment Thomas  Jefferson 73 

*  The  Monroe  Doctrine     .     James  Monroe 74 

Liberty  for  All  ....  William  Lloyd  Garrison      ....      77 

(2)  MopvAL  Heroism 
General  Grant's  Great- 
est Victory  ....     Elhridge  S.  Brooks 78 

Cub  Sawbones  ....  Sydney  Reid  (Robert  Charles  Forneri)       79 

The  Fleet  at  Santiago     .     Henry  Cabot  Lodge 80 

Wheeler  at  Santiago  .     .     James  Lindsay  Gordon 82 

When  with  Their  Coun- 
try's Anger   ....     Richard  Watson  Gilder 83 

(3)  The  Fight  for  a  Cause 
American     Ideals     Not 

Imperialistic      .     .     .     William  McKinley 85 

The  American  Flag  Not 

the  Dollar  Sign  .     .     .     Henry  Cabot  Lodge 86 

Our    Pan-American 

Policy Elihu  Root 89 

Americaniim    .     .     .     .     Theodore  Roosevelt 91 

America  for  Me !   .     .     .    Henry  van  Dyke 93 

IV.   DEMOCRACY 

Democracy Harriet  Monroe 95 

The  American  RepubUc     George  William  Curtis 97 

Peculiarity  of  American 

Liberty Daniel  Webster 100 


Contents  xiii 

PAGE 

Freedom Ralph  Waldo  Emerson 102 

What      Constitutes      a 

State? Sir  William  Jones 103 

Liberty John  Hay 104 

The  Thirtieth  Man    .     .  John  H.  Finley 105 

Labor  and  Democracy   .  American  Federation  of  Labor     .     .  108 

HovJ^  Democracy  Sur- 
passes Monarchy  .     .  Andrew  Shan  Draper 110 

The    Influence    of    the 

West  upon  Democracy  Frederick  Jackson  Turner   .     .     .     .  112 

Democracy James  Russell  Lowell 116 

V.   DEMOCRACY  AND   LIFE 

A    Man's    a    Man    for 

A' That RoberiBwns 123 

The  Democratic  Ideal  of 

Labor Orville  Dewey 125 

Work Thomas  Carlyk 125 

Aristokrats Josh  Billings  {Henry  W.  Shaw)    .     .  128 

The  Homes  of  the  People  Henry  W.Grady 129 

Our  Kind  of  a  Man     .     .  James  WhitcOmb  Riley 132 

A  Message  to  Garcia  .     .  Elbert  Hubbard 133 

VL   PATRIOTISM 

America Samuel  Francis  Smith 139 

The  Duty  and  Value  of 

Patriotism     ....  Archbishop  John  Ireland     ....  140 

The  Glory  of  Patriotism  Cardinal  Mercier 143 

Love  of  Country  .     .     .  Sir  Walter  Scott 145 

The     Man    without     a 

Country Edward  Everett  Hale 145 

The    Moral    QuaUty    in 

Patriotism     ....  George  William  Curtis 154 

America  the  Beautiful    .  Katharine  Lee  Bates 158 

Martial  Valor  in  Times 

of  Peace  .     .     .     .     .  John  Grier  Hibben 160 

The  Higher  Patriotism    .  The  Christian  Work 161 

Recessional Rudy  ard  Kipling 166 


XIV 


Contents 


VII.  THE 

The  Story  of  Old  Glory  . 

The  Star-Spangled  Ban- 
ner   

How  "  The  Star-Spangled 
Banner"  Was  Written 

The  American  Flag    .     . 

The  Symbol  of  Our  Na- 
tion       

A  Song  for  Flag  Day  .     . 

Flag  Etiquette .     .     .     . 

The  Makers  of  the  Flag  . 

The  Name  of  Old  Glory  . 


STORY  OF  THE  FLAG 

PAGE 

Anonymous 167 

Francis  Scott  Key 170 

Henry  Walter  son 172 

Joseph  Rodman  Drake 179 

Henry  Ward  Beecher 181 

Wilbur  Dick  Nesbit 184 

Adjutant  General  H.  P.  McCain   .     .  185 

Franklin  Knight  Lane 190 

James  Whitcomb  Riley 193 


VIII.   AMERICANS  ALL 


Liberty  Enlightening  the 
World 

America 

The  Making  of  an  Amer- 
ican       

Americans  of  Foreign 
Birth 

The  Foreigner  in  a  De- 
mocracy    

The  Loyalty  of  the 
Foreign  Bom    .     .     . 

From  AUen  to  Citizen     . 

Confessing  the  Hyphen  . 

America  Alone  .... 

A  Far  Journey  .     .     .     . 

America's  Cause  and  the 
Foreign-Born    Citizen 

The  Freedom  of  the 
Land    .     .     . 

America  First   . 

America  First   . 

Ode  to  Columbia 

One  Country     . 


Edmund  Clarence  Stedman  ....  197 

Bayard  Taylor 199 

Jacob  Riis 200 

Woodrow  Wilson 202 

CarlSchurz. 206 

M.E.  Ravage 209 

Edward  A.  Steiner 217 

Edward  A.  Steiner     ......  219 

Rudolph  Blankenburg 222 

Abraham  Mitrie  Rihbany    ....  223 

OttoH.Kahn 228 

L.  Lamprey 230 

Woodrow  Wilson 230 

Theodore  Roosevelt 233 

Hurban  Vajansky 235 

Frank  L.  Stanton 237 


Contents  xv 

IX.  THE  PRESENT  CRISIS 

PAOB 

Introduction 239 

The  Present  Crisis      ....     James  Russell  Lowell      .     .     .  241 

The     Prussian      Menace     to 

American  Freedom      .     .     .     ElihuRoot 245 

With  Firmness  in  the  Right    .     Theodore  Roosevelt     ....  256 

The  Prussian  Menace     .     .     .     American  Federation  of  Labor  258 

The  Poison  Growth  of  Prus- 

sianism OttoH.Kahn    .     .     .     .     .     .259 

The  World  Safe  for  Democ- 
racy      Woodrow  Wibon 261 

Battle  Hymn  of  the  Repubhc    Julia  Ward  Howe 274 

Flag  Day  Address      ....     Woodrow  Wilson 275 

Armageddon Sir  Edwin  Arnold      ....  284 

The    Meaning    of    American 

Democracy Woodrow  Wilson 286 

America's  Purpose  in  the  War     Woodrow  Wilson 292 

When  the  Great  Gray  Ships 

Come  In  .     .     .     .     .     .     .     Guy  Wetmore  Carryl ....  302 

X.   ONWARD 

A  World  Peace Woodrow  Wilson 305 

Freedom  against  the  Will  to 

Power William  E.Borah      ....  310 

Our  ResponsibiUties  ....  Theodore  Roosevelt  ....  314 
The  Right  of  the  People  to 

Rule Theodore  Roosevelt     ....  316 

Look  Up,  Look  Forth,  and  On  I     Bayard  Taylor      .     .     .     .     .  318 

The  Ship  of  State      ....     Henry  Wadsworih  Long  fellow  .  319 

A  Basis  for  World  Democracy     David  Starr  Jordan    ....  320 

The  New  Independence  Day     Woodrow  Wilson 323 

Carry  On ! Robert  W.  Service 326 

Index  to  Subjects 329 

Index  to  Authors,  Titles,  and  the  First  Lines  op  Poems  333 


I.  THE  PIONEER  SPIRIT 


COLUMBUS  1 
Joaquin  Miller  (1841-1911) 

Behind  him  lay  the  gray  Azores, 

Behind  the  Gates  of  Hercules ;  ^ 
Before  him  not  the  ghost  of  shores, 

Before  him  only  shoreless  seas. 
The  good  mate  said :  "Now  must  we  pray, 

For  lo  I  the  very  stars  are  gone, 
Brave  Adm'r'l,  speak ;  what  shall  I  say?" 

"Why,  say :  ' Sail  on  I  sail  on  I  and  on ! "* 

*'My  men  grow  mutinous  day  by  day ; 

My  men  grow  ghastly,  wan  and  weak.'* 
The  stout  mate  thought  of  home ;  a  spray 

Of  salt  wave  washed  his  swarthy  cheek. 
"What  shall  I  say,  brave  Adm'r'l,  say, 

If  we  sight  naught  but  seas  at  dawn  ?  " 
"Why,  you  shall  say  at  break  of  day : 

'  Sail  on  I  sail  on !  sail  on !  and  on  I '  ** 

They  sailed  and  sailed,  as  winds  might  blow, 
Until  at  last  the  blanched  mate  said : 

"Why,  now  not  even  God  would  know 
Should  I  and  all  my  men  fall  dead. 

1  From  Joaquin  Miller's  Poems  (Bear  Edition),  Vol,  II.  Copy- 
right, 1909,  by  C.  H.  Miller.  Published  by  Harr  Wagner  Publishing 
Company,  San  Francisco.     Used  by  permission  of  the  publishers. 

2  The  gates  or  pillars  of  Hercules  were  terms  often  applied  to  the  two 
great  promontories,  Gibraltar  and  Abyla,  on  the  opposite  sides 
of  the  strait  leading  from  the  Mediterranean  Sea  to  the  Atlantic 
Ocean.  In  Greek  mythology  these  were  said  to  have  been  torn 
asunder  by  Hercules  in  his  journey  to  Gadez  (now  Cadiz). 

1 


2  '■'•''  jT^g  American  Spirit 

These  very  winds  forget  their  way,  } 

For  God  from  these  dread  seas  is  gone.  \ 

Now  speak,  brave  Adm'r'l ;  speak  and  say  —  "  i 

He  said :  "Sail  on !  sail  on  I  and  on  l"  j 

They  sailed.    They  sailed.     Then  spake  the  mate :  \ 

"This  mad  sea  shows  his  teeth  to-night.  ] 

He  curls  his  lip,  he  hes  in  wait,  I 

He  Ufts  his  teeth,  as  if  to  bite  I  ■ 

Brave  Adm'r'l,  say  but  one  good  word :  i 

What  shall  we  do  when  hope  is  gone  ?  "  \ 
The  words  leapt  like  a  leaping  sword : 

*'  Sail  on  I  sail  on  I  sail  on  I  and  on  I "  •        ' 

Then  pale  and  worn,  he  paced  his  deck,  j 

And  peered  through  darkness.    Ah,  that  night,  i 

Of  all  dark  nights !    And  then  a  speck  —  j 

Alight!    Ahghtl    At  last  a  light  I  ; 

It  grew,  a  starlit  flag  unfurled  I  • 

It  grew  to  be  Time's  burst  of  dawn.  3 
He  gained  a  world ;  he  gave  that  world 

Its  grandest  lesson :  "On  I  sail  on ! "  ■ 

COLUMBUS  1 

Edward  Everett  Hale,  D.D.  (1822-1909)  j 

Give  me  white  paper ! 

This  which  you  use  is  black  and  rough  with  smears  ! 

Of  sweat  and  grime  and  fraud  and  blood  and  tears,  . 

^  In  this  poem  the  author,  who  was  eminent  as  clergyman,  orator,  j 

historian,  essayist,  editor,  and  writer  of  fiction,  aptly  expresses  the  ; 

thought  of  the  New  World  as  offering  humanity's  great  opportunity.  ; 

From  address  on  "The   Result   of   Columbus's  Discovery,"   in  "' 

Works  of  Edward  Everett  Hale,  Vol.  III.     Copyright,  1900,  by  ■ 

Little,  Brown  &  Co. ,  Boston.    Used  by  permission  of  the  pubhshers.  , 


The  Pioneer  Spirit  8  j 

Crossed  with  the  story  of  men's  sins  and  fears, 

Of  battle  and  of  famine  all  these  years,  ; 

When  all  God's  children  have  forgot  their  birth,  \ 

And  drudged  and  fought  and  died  like  beasts  of  earth.  ; 

Give  me  white  paper  I 
One  storm-trained  seaman  listened  to  the  word ; 
What  no  man  saw  he  saw ;  he  heard  what  no  man  heard. 

In  answer  he  compelled  the  sea  | 

To  eager  m£ui  to  tell  ; 

The  secret  she  had  kept  so  well. 

Left  blood  and  guilt  and  tyranny  behind,  \ 

Sailing  still  west  the  hidden  shore  to  find ;  ] 

For  all  mankind  that  unstained  scroll  unfurled. 

Where  God  might  write  anew  the  story  of  the  World.  \ 


TO  THE  VIRGINIAN  VOYAGE  i 

Michael  Drayton  (1563-1631) 

You  brave  heroic  minds. 
Worthy  your  country's  name. 

That  honor  still  pursue. 
Whilst  loitering  hinds 
Lurk  here  at  home,  with  shame, 

Go,  and  subdue. 

Britons,  you  stay  too  long. 
Quickly  aboard  bestow  you, 

^  This  spirit  of  adventure,  achievement,  and  faith  in  the  future 
felt  by  the  EngUshmen  of  the  seventeenth  century  is  a  part  of  the 
inheritance  entering  into  the  American  spirit. 

From  the  Works  of  Michael  Drayton,  Esq.,  Vol.  IV.     Printed  for 
W.  Reeve  at  Shakespear's  Head  in  Fleet  Street,  London,  1753. 


.  The  American  Spirit 

And  with  a  merry  gale 
Swell  your  stretch'd  sail, 
With  vows  as  strong 
As  the  winds  that  blow  you. 

Your  course  securely  steer, 
West  and  by  south  forth  keep. 

Rocks,  lee-shores,  nor  shoals, 

When  Eolus  scowls. 
You  need  not  fear. 
So  absolute  the  deep. 

And  cheerfully  at  sea. 
Success  you  still  entice. 

To  get  the  pearl  and  gold, 

And  ours  to  hold, 
Virginia, 
Earth's  only  paradise. 

Where  nature  hath  in  store 
Fowl,  venison,  and  fish. 

And  the  fruitfulest  soil. 

Without  your  toil. 
Three  harvests  more. 
All  greater  than  your  wish. 

And  the  ambitious  vine 
Crowns  with  his  purple  mass 

The  cedar  reaching  high 

To  kiss  the  sky. 
The  cypress,  pine, 
And  useful  sassafras. 


The  Pioneer  Spirit                          5  \ 

i 

When  as  the  luscious  smell '  i 

Of  that  deUcious  land,  j 

Above  the  seas  that  flows,  ■ 

The  clear  wind  throws,  ; 

Your  hearts  to  swell,  ; 
Approaching  the  dear  strand. 

In  kenning  of  the  shore  j 

(Thanks  to  God  first  given)  i 

0  you  the  happiest  men,  ' 

Be  froUck  then,  j 

Let  cannons  roar,  j 

Frighting  the  wide  heaven.  • 

i 

And  in  regions  far                                                       •  i 

Such  heroes  bring  ye  forth  ' 

As  those  from  whom  we  came,  | 

And  plant  our  name  | 

Under  that  star  i 

Not  known  unto  our  north.  ^ 


1  At  certain  seasons  the  fragrance  of  blossom-laden  vines  could  be  ; 

detected  by  ships  approaching  the  shores  of  the  Virginia  colonies,  3 

before  land  was  visible.  ! 


6  The  American  Spirit 

THE  FOUNDING  OF  JAMESTOWN  * 
Thomas  Nelson  Page  (1853-        ) 

On  that  May  day  three  hundred  years  ago,  when  the 
company  of  those  little  ships  debarked  and  made  their 
final  landing  on  American  soil,  they  faced  every  peril  and 
danger  that  the  human  mind  can  imagine. 

Every  tree  and  bush  and  patch  of  weeds  might  conceal 
a  crafty  Indian  with  his  deadly  arrow. 

The  Spaniard  with  sword  and  stake  was  ever  on  the 
horizon.     The  shadow  of  "  Melindus  "  ^  was  yet  black. 

No  one  who  has  the  least  conception  of  what  those  men 
endured  will  question  their  courage.  It  is  possible, 
however,  that  had  they  known  what  they  had  to  face 
in  their  new  home  the  stoutest-hearted  of  them  might  have 
quailed.  To  face  death  was  nothing  to  such  men,  it  was 
an  incident  of  the  fife  of  every  man,  as  it  is  today  of  the 
life  of  the  soldier  in  the  field.  Indeed,  this  Httle  band  was 
the  forlorn  hope  of  volunteers  sent  to  seize  a  continent. 
They  made  the  breach  and  held  it  against  all  odds,  and  it 
is  to  the  lasting  renown  of  the  English  Race  that  as  fast 
as  their  numbers  failed  they  were  replaced.  On  their 
maintaining  their  position  hung  the  fate  of  North  America, 
and  possibly  of  the  world.     They  had  reached  a  charmed 

^  In  the  volume  from  which  this  selection  is  taken,  Thomas  Nelson 
Page  has  dealt  with  the  history  of  his  native  state  in  a  style  not 
less  charming  than  that  of  his  stories.  Dm-ing  the  great  war 
Mr.  Page  has  ably  represented  the  American  government  as  am- 
bassador to  Italy. 

From  the  essay  on  "Jamestown,  the  Birthplace  of  the  American 
People,"  in  "The  Old  Dominion :  Her  Making  and  Her  Manners." 
Copyright,  1908,  by  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  New  York.  Used 
by  permission  of  the  pubhshers. 

*  Pedro  Menendes  de  Aviles,  a  Spanish  explorer  and  military  leader 
who  massacred  a  colony  of  French  Protestants  in  Florida  in  1565. 


The  Pioneer  Spirit  7 

but  an  unknown  land  with  a  changeable  and  an  untried 
climate.  Their  provisions,  intended  only  to  last  until 
they  could  seed  and  harvest  a  new  crop,  had  been 
wasted  during  their  long  voyage  and  would  not  last 
them  out. 

Their  form  of  government,  under  which  the  president 
could  always  be  removed  by  a  majority  of  the  Council, 
was  one  well  framed  to  breed  faction.  The  community 
of  interest  which  was  imagined  to  be  necessary  in  a  new 
land  placed  the  industrious  at  the  mercy  of  the  idle, 
and  the  zealous  supported  the  shirker.  But  it  is  weU  for 
the  Anglo-Saxon  race  to  pause,  and  take  note  of  the  one 
great  fact,  that,  however  their  perils  may  have  alarmed 
them,  however  their  vast  isolation  may  have  awed  them, 
there  always  survived  spirit  enough  to  preserve  them,  and 
they  remained  in  this  far  and  perilous  outpost  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  civiUzation,  and,  with  the  devotion  of  the 
vestal  virgin  of  old,  kept  the  fire,  however  dim  its  spark, 
ever  alight  on  the  sacred  shrine. 

THE  NORTH  AND  THE  SOUTH  ONE  IN  THEIR 
ORIGIN  1 

John  Fiske  (1842-1901) 

It  is  impossible  to  make  any  generalization  concerning 
the  origin  of  the  white  people  of  the  South  as  a  whole, 
or  of  the  North  as  a  whole,  further  than  to  say  that 
their  ancestors  came  from  Europe,  and  a  large  majority 
of  them  from  the  British  Islands.    The  facts  are  too 

1  From  "Old  Virginia  and  Her  Neighbours."     Copyright,  1897,  by 
John  Fiske. 

Published    by   Houghton    Mifflin .  Company,  Boston.    Used  by 
permission  of  the  pubUshers. 


8  The  American  Spirit 

complicated  to  be  embraced  in  any  generalization  more 
definitely  limited  than  this.  When  sweeping  statements 
are  made  about  "the  North"  and  "the  South,"  it  is 
often  apparent  that  the  speaker  has  in  mind  only  Massa- 
chusetts and  tidewater  Virginia,  making  these  parts  do 
duty  for  the  whole.  .  .  . 

In  Virginia  the  economic  circumstances  were  very 
different  from  those  of  New  England,  and  the  effects 
were  seen  in  a  different  kind  of  local  institutions.  In 
New  England  the  system  of  small  holdings  facihtated 
the  change  from  primogeniture  ^  to  the  Kentish  custom 
of  gavelkind,^  with  which  many  of  the  settlers  were 
already  famihar,  in  which  the  property  of  an  intestate 
is  equally  divided  among  the  children.  In  Virginia, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  large  estates,  cultivated  by  sei'vile 
labor,  were  kept  together  by  the  combined  customs  of 
primogeniture  and  entail,  which  lasted  until  they  were 
overthrown  by  Thomas  Jefferson  in  1776.  In  this  cir- 
cumstance, more  than  in  anything  else,  originated  the 
more  aristocratic  features  in  the  local  institutions  of 
Virginia.  .  .  . 

As  already  hinted,  in  those  rural  societies  where  people 
generally  knew  one  another,  its  effects  were  not  so  far- 
reaching  as  they  would  be  in  the  more  compUcated  society 
of  today.  Even  though  Virginia  had  not  the  town  meet- 
ing, "it  had  its  famiheu*  court-day,"  which  "was  a  hoUday 
for  all  the  countryside,  especially  in  the  fall  and  spring. 

1  The  legal  custom  by  which  property  passed  to  the  oldest  son, 
rather  than  being  divided  between  all  the  sons. 

2  An  old  English  legal  custom  by  which  rented  or  leased  lands 
were  divided  equally  among  the  sons  or  the  children  of  a 
deceased  person.  Except  in  Kent,  the  custom  was  later  re- 
placed by  the  feudgJ  custom  of  primogeniture  introduced  from 
France. 


The  Pioneer  Spirit  9 

From  all  directions  came  in  the  people  on  horseback,  in 
wagons,  and  afoot.  On  the  com-thouse  green  assembled, 
in  indiscriminate  confusion,  people  of  all  classes,  —  the 
hunter  from  the  backwoods,  the  owner  of  a  few  acres, 
the  grand  proprietor,  and  the  grinning,  heedless  negro. 
Old  debts  were  settled,  and  new  ones  made ;  there  were 
auctions,  transfers  of  property,  and,  if  election  times  were 
near,  stump-speaking."  ^ 

For  seventy  yegu's  or  more  before  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  the  matters  of  general  public  concern, 
about  which  stump  speeches  were  made  on  Virginia 
court-days,  were  very  similar  to  those  that  were  dis- 
cussed in  Massachusetts  town  meetings  when  represent- 
atives were  to  be  chosen  for  the  legislature.  Such 
questions  generally  related  to  some  real  or  alleged  en- 
croachment upon  popular  hberties  by  the  royal  governor, 
who,  being  appointed  and  sent  from  beyond  sea,  was  apt 
to  have  ideas  and  purposes  of  his  own  that  conflicted 
with  those  of  the  people.  This  perpetual  antagonism  to 
the  governor,  who  represented  British  imperial  inter- 
ference with  American  local  self-government,  was  an 
excellent  schooling  in  political  liberty,  ahke  for  Virginia 
and  for  Massachusetts.  WTien  the  stress  of  the  Revolu- 
tion came,  these  two  leading  colonies  cordially  supported 
each  other,  and  their  poUtical  characteristics  were  re- 
flected in  the  kind  of  achievements  for  which  each  was 
especially  distinguished.  The  Virginia  system,  con- 
centrating the  administration  of  local  affairs  in  the 
hands  of  a  few  county  famihes,  was  eminently  favorable 
for  developing  skillful  and  vigorous  leadership.  And 
while  in  the  history  of  Massachusetts  during  the  Revolu- 

1  Ingle,  in  "Johns  Hopkins  University  Studies,"  iii.  90. 


10  The  American  Spirit 

tion  we  are  chiefly  impressed  with  the  remarkable  degree 
in  which  the  mass  of  the  people  exhibited  the  kind  of 
political  training  that  nothing  in  the  world  except  the 
habit  of  parHamentary  discussion  can  impart;  on  the 
other  hand,  Virginia  at  that  time  gave  us  —  in  Washing- 
ton, Jefferson,  Henry,  Mason,  Madison,  and  Marshall,  to 
mention  no  others  —  such  a  group  of  leaders  as  has  seldom 
been  equaled.  .  .  . 

A  comparative  survey  of  Old  Virginia's  neighbors  shows 
how  extremely  loose  and  inaccurate  is  the  common  habit 
of  alluding  to  the  Old  Cavalier  society  of  England  as  if 
it  were  characteristic  of  the  southern  states  in  general. 
Equally  loose  and  ignorant  is  the  habit  of  afluding  to 
Puritanism  as  if  it  were  peculiar  to  England.  In  point 
of  fact  the  Cavalier  society  was  reproduced  nowhere  save 
on  Chesapeake  Bay.  On  the  other  hand,  the  English 
or  Independent  phase  of  Puritanism  was  by  no  means 
confined  to  the  New  England  colonies.  Three  fourths 
of  the  people  of  Meu^yland  were  Puritans ;  English  Puri- 
tanism, with  the  closely  kindred  French  Calvinism, 
swayed  South  Carolina;  and  in  our  concluding  chapter 
we  shall  see  how  the  Scotch  or  Presbyterian  phase  of 
Puritanism  extended  throughout  the  whole  length  of  the 
Appalachian  region,  from  Pennsylvania  to  Georgia,  and 
has  exercised  in  the  southwest  an  influence  always  great 
and  often  predominant.  In  the  South  today  there  is 
much  more  Puritanism  surviving  than  in  New  England. 


The  Pioneer  Spirit  11 

THE  PURITANS » 

Thomas  Babington  Macaulay  (1800-1859) 

The  Puritans  were  men  whose  minds  had  derived  a 
peculiar  character  from  the  daily  contemplation  of 
superior  beings  and  eternal  interests.  Not  content 
with  acknowledging,  in  general  terms,  an  overruling 
Providence,  they  habitually  ascribed  every  event  to 
the  will  of  the  Great  Being,  for  whose  power  nothing 
was  too  vast,  for  whose  inspection  nothing  was  too 
minute.  To  know  Him,  to  serve  Him,  to  enjoy  Him, 
was  with  them  the  great  end  of  existence.  They  rejected 
with  contempt  the  ceremonious  homage  which  other 
sects  substituted  for  the  pure  worship  of  the  soul.  In- 
stead of  catching  occasional  ghmpses  of  the  Deity 
through  an  obscuring  veil,  they  aspired  to  gaze  full  on 
His  intolerable  brightness,  and  to  commune  with  Him 
face  to  face.  Hence  originated  their  contempt  for  terres- 
trial distinctions.  The  difference  between  the  greatest 
and  the  meanest  of  mankind  seemed  to  vanish,  when 
compared  with  the  boundless  interval  which  separated 
the  whole  race  from  Him  on  whom  their  own  eyes  were 
constantly  fixed.  They  recognized  no  title  to  superiority 
but  His  favor ;  and,  confident  of  that  favor,  they  despised 
all  the  accompHshments  and  all  the  dignities  of  the  world. 
If  they  were  unacquainted  with  the  works  of  philosophers 
and  poets,  they  were  deeply  read  in  the  oracles  of  God. 
If  their  names  were  not  found  in  the  registers  of  heralds, 
they  were  recorded  in  the  Book  of  Life.  If  their  steps 
were  not  accompanied  by  a  splendid  train  of  menials, 

1  From  the  "  Essay  on   Milton,"    in  Works   of  Lord    Macaulay, 
Vol.  V.     Published  by  Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  London,  1866. 


12  The  American  Spirit 

legions  of  ministering  angels  had  charge  over  them. 
Their  palaces  were  houses  not  made  with  hands ;  their 
diadems,  crowns  of  glory  which  should  never  fade  away. 
On  the  rich  and  the  eloquent,  on  nobles  and  priests, 
they  looked  down  with  contempt:  for  they  esteemed 
themselves  rich  in  a  more  precious  treasure,  and  elo- 
quent in  a  more  sublime  language,  nobles  by  the  right 
of  an  earher  creation,  and  priests  by  the  imposition  of  a 
mightier  hand.  The  very  meanest  of  them  was  a  being 
to  whose  fate  a  mysterious  and  terrible  importance 
belonged,  on  whose  slightest  action  the  spirits  of  light 
and  darkness  looked  with  anxious  interest,  who  had  been 
destined,  before  heaven  and  earth  were  created,  to  enjoy 
a  fehcity  which  should  continue  when  heaven  and  earth 
should  have  passed  away.  Events  which  short-sighted 
politicians  ascribed  to  earthly  causes,  had  been  ordained 
on  his  account.  For  his  sake  empires  had  risen,  and 
flourished,  and  decayed.  For  his  sake  the  Almighty  had 
proclaimed  His  will  by  the  pen  of  the  Evangelist,  and  the 
harp  of  the  prophet.  He  had  been  wrested  by  no  common 
deliverer  from  the  grasp  of  no  common  foe.  He  had 
been  ransomed  by  the  sweat  of  no  vulgar  agony,  by  the 
blood  of  no  earthly  sacrifice.  It  was  for  him  that  the  sun 
had  been  darkened,  that  the  rocks  had  been  rent,  that 
the  dead  had  risen,  that  all  nature  had  shuddered  at  the 
sufferings  of  her  expiring  God. 

Thus  the  Puritan  was  made  up  of  two  different  men,  the 
one  all  self-abasement,  penitence,  gratitude,  passion ;  the 
other  proud,  calm,  inflexible,  sagacious.  He  prostrated 
himself  in  the  dust  before  his  Maker ;  but  he  set  his  foot 
on  the  neck  of  his  king.  In  his  devotional  retirement,  he 
prayed  with  convulsions,  and  groans,  and  tears.  He  was 
half^maddened  by  glorious  or  terrible  iUusions.     He  heard 


The  Pioneer  Spirit  13 

the  lyres  of  angels,  or  the  tempting  whispers  of  fiends.  He 
caught  a  gleam  of  the  Beatific  Vision,  or  woke  screaming 
from  dreams  of  everlasting  fire.  Like  Vane,^  he  thought 
himself  intrusted  with  the  scepter  of  the  millennial  year. 
Like  Fleetwood,^  he  cried  in  the  bitterness  of  his  soul  that 
God  had  hid  His  face  from  him.  But  when  he  took  his 
seat  in  the  council,  or  girt  on  his  sword  for  war,  these 
tempestuous  workings  of  the  soul  had  left  no  perceptible 
trace  behind  them.  People  who  saw  nothing  of  the  godly 
but  their  uncouth  visages,  and  heard  nothing  from  them 
but  their  groans  and  their  whining  hymns,  might  laugh 
at  them.  But  those  had  Httle  reason  to  laugh  who  en- 
countered them  in  the  hall  of  debate  or  in  the  field  of 
battle.  These  fanatics  brought  to  civil  and  military 
aflfairs  a  coolness  of  judgment  and  an  immutability  of 
purpose  which  some  writers  have  thought  inconsistent 
with  their  refigious  zeal,  but  which  were  in  fact  the 
necessary  effects  of  it.  The  intensity  of  their  feelings  on 
one  subject  made  them  tranquil  on  every  other.  One 
overpowering  sentiment  had  subjected  to  itself  pity  and 
hatred,  ambition  and  fear. .  Death  had  lost  its  terrors  and 
pleasure  its  charms.  They  had  their  smiles  EUid  their 
tears,  their  raptures  and  their  sorrows,  but  not  for  the 
things  of  this  world.  Enthusiasm  had  made  them  Stoics, 
had  cleared  their  minds  from  every  vulgar  passion  and 
prejudice,  and  raised, them  above  the  influence  of  danger 
and  corruption.  It  sometimes  might  lead  them  to  pursue 
unwise  ends,  but  never  to  choose  unwise  means.     They 

1  Sir  Harry  Vane,  a  Puritan  statesman  and  patriot,  governor  of 
Massachusetts  Bay  Colony,  1636-1637.  Because  of  disagreement 
with  the  colonial  religious  policy,  he  returned  to  England  in  1637 
and  later  was  prominent  in  the  Puritan  Commonwealth,  at  times 
opposing  Cromwell's  rule.     He  was  executed  at  the  Restoration. 

2  A  statesman  and  general  under  the  Puritan  Commonwealth. 


14  The  American  Spirit 

went  through  the  world  Uke  Sir  Artegal's^  iron  man 
Talus  with  his  flail,  crushing  and  trampling  down  oppres- 
sors, mingUng  with  human  beings,  but  having  neither 
part  nor  lot  in  human  infirmities;  insensible  to  fatigue, 
to  pleasure,  and  to  pain,  not  to  be  pierced  by  any  weapon, 
not  to  be  withstood  by  any  barrier. 

THE  LANDING  OF  THE  PILGRIMS  ^ 
Felicia  Dorothea  Browne  Hemans  (1793-1835) 

The  breaking  waves  dashed  high 

On  a  stern  and  rockbound  coast, 
And  the  woods  against  a  stormy  sky 

Their  giant  branches  tossed. 

And  the  heavy  night  hung  dark 

The  hills  and  waters  o'er, 
When  a  band  of  exiles  moored  their  bark 

On  the  wild  New  England  shore. 

Not  as  the  conqueror  comes. 

They,  the  true-hearted,  came. 
Not  with  the  roU  of  the  stirring  drums, 

And  the  trumpet  that  sings  of  fame ; 

Not  as  the  flying  come. 

In  silence  and  in  fear ; 
They  shook  the  depths  of  the  desert  gloom 

With  their  hymns  of  lofty  cheer. 

^  The  knight  errant,  Sir  Artegal,  in  Spenser's  "Faery  Queene," 
personified  justice.  He  was  attended  by  an  iron  man  called 
Talus,  who  carried  a  flail  "  with  which  he  thrashed  out  falsehood 
and  did  truth  unfold." 

2  From  works  of  Mrs.  Hemans,  Vol.  V.  Published  by  Lea  & 
Blanchard,  1840. 


The  Pioneer  Spirit                        15  ^ 

Amidst  the  storm  they  sang,  ; 

And  the  stars  heard  and  the  sea ;                                  .  ' 
And  the  sounding  aisles  of  the  dim  woods  rang 

To  the  anthem  of  the  free  I  \ 

The  ocean  eagle  soared  ) 

From  his  nest  by  the  white  wave's  foam ;  a 

And  the  rocking  pines  of  the  forest  roared  —  } 

This  was  their  welcome  home  1  ] 

There  were  men  with  hoary  hair  '' 

Amidst  that  pilgrim  band ;  —  j 

Why  had  they  come  to  wither  there,  ^ 

Away  from  their  childhood's  land  ?  i 

There  was  woman's  fearless  eye,  j 

Lit  by  her  deep  love's  truth ;  i 

There  was  manhood's  brow  serenely  high, 

And  the  fiery  heart  of  youth.  i 

What  sought  they  thus  afar  ?  — 

Bright  jewels  of  the  mine  ?  ! 

The  wealth  of  seas,  the  spoils  of  war  ?  —  ^ 

They  sought  a  faith's  pure  shrine  I 

Ay,  call  it  holy  ground. 

The  soil  where  first  they  trode  I  ! 

They  have  left  unstained  what  there  they  found  —  j 

Freedom  to  worship  God.  i 

1 


16  The  American  Spirit 

THE  FIRST  LANDING  AT  PLYMOUTH  * 
William  Bradford  (1590-1657) 

Being  thus  arrived  in  a  good  harbor  and  brought  safe 
to  land,  they  fell  upon  their  knees  and  blessed  the  God  of 
heaven,  who  had  brought  them  over  the  vast  and  furious 
ocean,  and  delivered  them  from  all  the  perils  and  miseries 
thereof,  again  to  set  their  feet  on  the  firm  and  stable 
earth,  their  proper  element.  And  no  marvel  if  they  were 
thus  joyful,  seeing  wise  Seneca  was  so  affected  with  sailing 
a  few  miles  on  the  cosist  of  his  own  Italy ;  as  he  affirmed, 
that  he  had  rather  remain  twenty  years  on  his  way  by 
land,  than  pass  by  sea  to  any  place  in  a  short  time ;  so 
tedious  and  dreadful  was  the  same  unto  him. 

But  here  I  cannot  but  stay  and  make  a  pause,  and 
stand  half  ameized  at  this  poor  people's  present  condi- 
tion; and  so  I  think  wiU  the  reader  too,  when  he  well 
considers  the  same.  Being  thus  passed  the  vast  ocean, 
and  a  sea  of  troubles  before  in  their  preparation  (as  may 
be  remembered  by  that  which  went  before),  they  had  now 

1  William  Bradford  was  second  governor  of  Plymouth  Colony.  He 
was  chosen  to  this  office  after  the  first  governor,  Carver,  had  died 
from  the  hardships  of  the  first  winter.  Bradford  remained  in 
office  for  twelve  years,  or  until  1633.  His  "History  of  Plymouth 
Plantation,"  from  which  this  selection  is  taken,  was  written  during 
the  latter  years  of  his  Ufe,  though  often  erroneously  called  "Th« 
Log  of  the  Mayflower."  Early  Massachusetts  historians  quoted 
from  the  manuscript  until  as  late  as  1767.  After  this  time  the 
manuscript  disappeared  and  was  taken  to  England  during  the 
period  of  the  Revolutionary  War.  It  was  discovered  in  1855  in 
the  library  of  the  diocese  of  London  and  was  first  published  by  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society  in  the  following  year.  In  1897 
the  original  manuscript  was  given  by  the  authorities  of  the  Church 
of  England  to  the  commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  and  was  pub- 
lished by  that  state  in  the  following  year.  From  this  edition  the 
excerpt  given  here  is  taken. 


The  Pioneer  Spirit  17 

no  friends  to  welcome  them,  nor  inns  to  entertain  or  re- 
fresh their  weatherbeaten  bodies,  no  houses  or  much  less 
towns  to  repair  to,  to  seek  for  succor.  It  is  recorded  in 
Scripture  as  a  mercy  to  the  apostle  and  his  shipwrecked 
company,  that  the  barbarians  showed  them  no  small 
kindness  in  refreshing  them,  but  these  savage  barbarians, 
when  they  met  with  them  (as  after  will  appear)  were 
readier  to  fill  their  sides  full  of  eirrows  than  otherwise. 
And  for  the  season  it  was  winter,  and  they  that  know 
the  winters  of  the  country  know  them  to  be  sharp  and 
violent,  and  subject  to  cruel  and  fierce  storms,  dangerous 
to  travel  to  known  places,  much  more  to  search  £^n  un- 
known coast.  Besides,  what  could  they  see  but  a  hideous 
and  desolate  wilderness,  full  of  wild  beasts  and  wild  men  ? 
and  what  multitudes  there  might  be  of  them  they  knew 
not.  Neither  could  they,  as  it  were,  go  up  to  the  top  of 
Pisgah,  to  view  from  this  wilderness  a  more  goodly  coun- 
try to  feed  their  hopes ;  for  which  way  soever  they  turned 
their  eyes  (save  upward  to  the  heavens)  they  could  have 
little  solace  or  content  in  respect  of  any  outward  objects. 
For  summer  being  done,  all  things  stand  upon  them  with 
a  weatherbeaten  face;  and  the  whole  country,  full  of 
woods  and  thickets,  represented  a  wild  and  savage  hue. 
If  they  looked  behind  them,  there  was  the  mighty  ocean 
which  they  had  passed,  and  was  now  as  a  main  bar  and 
gulf  to  separate  them  from  all  the  civil  parts  of  the  world. 
If  it  be  said  they  had  a  ship  to  succor  them,  it  is  true : 
but  what  heard  they  daily  from  the  master  of  the  com- 
pany ?  but  that  with  speed  they  should  look  out  a  place 
with  their  shallop,  where  they  would  be  at  some  near 
distance;  for  the  season  was  such  as  he  would  not  stir 
from  thence  till  a  safe  harbor  was  discovered  by  them 
where  they  would  be,  and  he  might  go  without  danger; 


18  The  American  Spirit 

and  that  victuals  consumed  apace,  but  he  must  and  would 
keep  sufficient  for  themselves  and  their  return.  Yea,  it 
was  muttered  by  some,  that  if  they  got  not  a  place  in 
time,  they  would  turn  them  and  their  goods  ashore  and 
leave  them.  .  .  .  What  could  now  sustain  them  but  the 
spirit  of  God  and  His  grace?  May  not  and  ought  not 
the  children  of  these  fathers  rightly  say :  Our  fathers  were 
Englishmen  which  came  over  this  great  ocean,  and  were 
ready  to  perish  in  this  wilderness  ;  but  they  cried  unto  the 
Lord,  and  he  heard  their  voice,  and  looked  on  their  ad- 
versity, etc.  Let  them  therefore  praise  the  Lord,  because 
he  is^  good,  and  his  mercies  endure  forever.  Yea,  let 
them  which  have  been  redeemed  of  the  Lord,  show  how 
he  hath  delivered  them  from  the  hand  of  the  oppressor. 
When  they  weuidered  in  the  desert  wilderness  out  of  the 
way,  and  found  no  city  to  dwell  in,  both  hungry,  and 
thirsty,  their  soul  was  overwhelmed  in  them.  Let  them 
confess  before  the  Lord  his  loving  kindness,  and  his  won- 
derful works  before  the  sons  of  men. 

NEW  ENGLAND   CIVILIZATION  ^ 

James  Russell  Lowell  (1819-1891) 

The  history  of  New  England  is  written  imperishably 
on  the  face  of  a  continent,  and  in  characters  as  beneficent 
as  they  are  enduring.  In  the  Old  World  national  pride 
feeds  itself  with  the  record  of  battles  and  conquests ;  — 
battles  which  proved  nothing  and  settled  nothing; 
conquests  which  shifted  a  boundary  on  the  map,  and  put 

1  From  "New  England  Two  Centuries  Ago"  in  "Literary  Essays 
by  James  Russell  Lowell,"  Vol.  II  of  Lowell's  Prose  Works  (River- 
side Edition).  Copyright,  1890,  by  Houghton  Mifflin  Company, 
Boston,     Used  by  permission  of  the  publishers. 


The  Pioneer  Spirit  19 

one  ugly  head  instead  of  another  on  the  coin  which  the 
people  paid  to  the  tax  gatherer.  But  wherever  the  New 
Englander  travels  among  the  sturdy  commonwealths 
which  have  sprung  from  the  seed  of  the  Mayflower, 
churches,  schools,  colleges,  tell  him  where  the  men  of  his 
race  have  been,  or  their  influence  has  penetrated ;  and  an 
intelligent  freedom  is  the  monument  of  conquests  whose 
results  are  not  to  be  measured  in  square  miles.  Next  to 
the  fugitives  whom  Moses  led  out  of  Egypt,  the  little 
shipload  of  outcasts  who  landed  at  Plymouth  two  cen- 
turies and  a  half  ago  are  destined  to  influence  the  future 
of  the  world.  .  .  . 

Looked  at  on  the  outside.  New  England  history  is  dry 
and  unpicturesque.  There  is  no  rustle  of  silks,  no  waving 
of  plumes,  no  cUnk  of  golden  spurs.  Our  sympathies  are 
not  awakened  by  the  changeful  destinies,  the  rise  and  fall, 
of  great  famiUes,  whose  doom  was  in  their  blood.  Instead 
of  all  this,  we  have  the  homespun  fates  of  Cephas  and 
Prudence  repeated  in  an  infinite  series  of  peaceable 
sameness,  and  finding  space  enough  for  record  in  the 
family  Bible ;  we  have  the  noise  of  ax  and  hammer  and 
saw,  an  apotheosis  of  dogged  work,  where,  reversing  the 
fairy  teJe,  nothing  is  left  to  luck,  and  if  there  be  any  poetry, 
it  is  something  that  cannot  be  helped,  —  the  waste  of 
the  water  over  the  dam.  ExtrinsicaUy,  it  is  prosaic  and 
plebeian ;  intrinsically,  it  is  poetic  and  noble ;  for  it  is, 
perhaps,  the  most  perfect  incarnation  of  an  idea  the 
world  has  ever  seen.  That  idea  was  not  to  found  a 
democracy,  nor  to  charter  the  city  of  New  Jerusalem  by 
an  act  of  the  General  Court,  ^  as  gentlemen  seem  to  think 
whose  notions  of  history  and  humeoi  nature  rise  like  an 

1  The  legislative  body  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony. 


20  The  American  Spirit 

exhalation  from  the  good  things  at  a  Pilgrim  Society 
dinner.  Not  in  the  least.  They  had  no  faith  in  the 
Divine  institution  of  a  system  which  gives  Teague, 
because  he  can  dig,  as  much  influence  as  Ralph,  because 
he  can  think,  nor  in  personal  at  the  expense  of  general 
freedom.  Their  view  of  human  rights  was  not  so  limited 
that  it  could  not  take  in  human  relations  and  duties  also. 
They  would  have  been  likely  to  answer  the  claim,  "I  am 
as  good  as  anybody,"  by  a  quiet,  "Yes,  for  some  things, 
but  not  for  others  ;  as  good,  doubtless,  in  your  place,  where 
all  things  are  good."  What  the  early  settlers  of  Mas- 
sachusetts did  intend,  and  what  they  accomplished, 
was  the  founding  here  of  a  new  England,  and  a  better 
one,  where  the  political  superstitions  and  abuses  of  the 
old  should  never  have  leave  to  take  root.  So  much,  we 
may  say,  they  deliberately  intended.  No  nobles,  either 
lay  or  cleric,  no  great  landed  estates,  and  no  universal 
ignorances  as  the  seed  plot  of  vice  and  unreason;  but 
an  elective  magistracy  and  clergy,  land  for  all  who  would 
till  it,  and  reading  and  writing,  will  ye,  nill  ye,  instead. 
Here  at  last,  it  should  seem,  simple  manhood  is  to  have 
a  chance  to  play  his  stake  against  Fortune  with  honest 
dice,  uncogged  by  those  three  hoary  sharpers.  Preroga- 
tive, Patricianism,  and  Priestcraft.  .  .  . 

We  have  said  that  the  details  of  New  England  history 
were  essentially  dry  and  unpoetic.  Everything  is  near, 
authentic,  and  petty.  There  is  no  mist  of  distance  to 
soften  outUnes,  no  mirage  of  tradition  to  give  characters 
and  events  an  imaginative  loom.  So  much  downright 
work  was  perhaps  never  wrought  on  the  earth's  surface 
in  the  same  space  of  time  as  during  the  first  forty  years 
after  the  settlement.  .  .  .  There  was,  indeed,  one  poetic 
side  to  the  existence  otherwise  so  narrow  and  practical; 


The  Pioneer  Spirit  21 

and  to  have  conceived  this,  however  partially,  is  the  one 
original  and  American  thing  in  Cooper.^  This  diviner 
glimpse  illumines  the  Uves  of  our  Daniel  Boone,  the  man 
of  civiHzation  and  old-world  ideas  confronted  with  our 
forest  solitudes,  —  confronted,  too,  for  the  first  time,  with 
his  real  self,  and  so  led  gradually  to  disentangle  the 
original  substance  of  his  manhood  from  the  artificial  results 
of  culture.  Here  was  our  new  Adam  of  the  wilderness, 
forced  to  name  anew,  not  the  visible  creation  of  God,  but 
the  invisible  creation  of  man,  in  those  forms  that  lie  at  the 
base  of  social  institutions,  so  insensibly  moulding  personal 
character  and  controlling  individual  action.  Here  is  the 
protagonist  of  our  New  World  epic,  a  figure  as  poetic  as 
that  of  Achilles,^  as  ideally  representative  as  that  of  Don 
Quixote,^  as  romantic  in  its  relation  to  our  homespun  and 
plebeian  mythus  as  Arthur  in  his  to  the  mailed  and  plumed 
cycle  of  chivalry.  .  .  . 

There  have  been  two  great  distributing  centers  of 
the  English  race  on  this  continent,  Massachusetts  and 
Virginia.  Each  has  impressed  the  character  of  its  early 
legislators  on  the  swarms  it  has  sent  forth.  Their  ideals 
are  in  some  fundamental  respects  the  opposites  of  each 
other,  and  we  can  only  account  for  it  by  an  antagonism 
of  thought  beginning  with  the  early  framers  of  their 

*  James  Fenimore  Cooper,  one  of  the  earliest  American  novelists, 
author  of  the  various  volumes  of  the  Leatherstocking  Tales,  to 
which  reference  is  here  made.  In  these  tales  is  depicted  in  some- 
what idealistic  form  the  life  of  the  American  Indians  in  their 
contact  with  the  whites. 

2  The  central  hero  of  Homer's  Iliad,  the  worid's  greatest  epic, 
and  the  Greek  ideal  of  bravery  and  honor, 

2  The  hero  of  a  Spanish  romance  by  Cervantes,  published  in  1605. 
Quixote  represents  the  ideals  of  medieval  chivalry  in  such  an 
exaggerated  form  that  the  narrative  of  his  exploits  did  much  to 
undermine  the  whole  system  of  chivalry. 


22  The  American  Spirit 

respective  institutions.  New  England  abolished  caste; 
in  Virginia  they  still  talk  of  "quality  folks."  But  it 
was  in  making  education  not  only  common  to  all,  but  in 
some  sense  compulsory  on  all,  that  the  destiny  of  the 
free  republics  of  America  was  practically  settled.  Every 
man  was  to  be  trained,  not  only  to  the  use  of  arms,  but 
of  his  wits  also ;  and  it  is  these  which  alone  make  the 
others  effective  weapons  for  the  maintenance  of  freedom. 
You  may  disarm  the  hands,  but  not  the  brains,  of  a 
people,  and  to  know  what  should  be  defended  is  the  first 
condition  of  successful  defense.  Simple  as  it  seems,  it 
was  a  great  discovery  that  the  key  of  knowledge  could 
turn  both  ways,  that  it  could  open,  as  well  as  lock,  the 
door  of  power  to  the  many.  .  .  . 

I  have  Uttle  sympathy  with  declaimers  about  the 
Pilgrim  Fathers,  who  look  upon  them  all  as  men  of  grand 
conception  and  superhuman  foresight.  An  entire  ship's 
company  of  Columbuses  is  what  the  world  never  saw. 
It  is  not  wise  to  form  any  theory  and  fit  our  facts  to 
it,  as  a  man  in  a  hurry  is  apt  to  cram  his  traveHng-bag, 
with  a  total  disregard  of  shape  or  texture.  But  per- 
haps it  may  be  found  that  the  facts  will  only  fit  com- 
fortably together  on  a  single  plan,  namely,  that  the 
fathers  did  have  a  conception  (which  those  will  call  grand 
who  regard  simplicity  as  a  necessary  element  of  grandeur) 
of  founding  here  a  commonwealth  on  those  two  eternal 
bases  of  Faith  and  Work;  that  they  had,  indeed,  no 
revolutionary  ideas  of  universal  Hberty,  but  yet,  what 
answered  the  purpose  quite  as  well,  an  abiding  faith  in 
the  brotherhood  of  man  and  the  fatherhood  of  God ;  and 
that  they  did  not  so  much  propose  to  make  all  things  new, 
as  to  develop  the  latest  possibiUties  of  English  law  and 
English  character,  by  clearing  away  the  fences  by  which 


The  Pioneer  Spirit  23 

the  abuse  of  the  one  was  gradually  discommoning  the 
other  from  the  broad  fields  of  natural  right.  They  were 
not  in  advance  of  their  age,  as  it  is  called,  for  no  one  who 
is  so  can  ever  work  profitably  in  it ;  but  they  were  alive 
to  the  highest  and  most  earnest  thinking  of  their  time. 

THE  QUAKER  OF  THE  OLDEN  TIME^ 
John  Greenleaf  Whittier  (1807-1892) 

The  Quaker  of  the  olden  time ! 

How  calm  and  firm  and  true. 
Unspotted  by  its  wrong  and  crime, 

He  walked  the  dark  earth  through. 
The  lust  of  power,  the  love  of  gain, 

The  thousand  lures  of  sin 
,   Around  him,  had  no  power  to  stain 

The  purity  within. 

With  that  deep  insight  which  detects 

All  great  things  in  the  small, 
And  knows  how  each  man's  life  affects 

The  spiritual  life  of  all. 
He  walked  by  faith  and  not  by  sight, 

By  love  and  not  by  law ; 

1  One  definite  contribution  to  the  American  spirit  was  made  in 
practically  all  the  colonies  by  the  Quakers  or  members  of  the  So- 
ciety of  Friends.  In  the  face  of  persecution  or  of  social  ostracism 
they  stood  firm  in  their  opposition  to  all  types  of  formalism  in 
religion;  in  their  belief  in  a  personal  interpretation  of  faith  and 
worship;  in  their  opposition  to  the  use  of  force;  and  in  their 
belief  in  the  brotherhood  of  man.  The  poet  Whittier  was  a 
Quaker. 

From  "Songs  of  Labor  in  Reform,"  in  Complete  Poetiqal  Works 
of  John  Greenleaf  Whittier  (Cambridge  edition).  Copyright, 
1894,  by  Houghton  Mifflin  Company,  Boston.  Used  by  permis- 
sion of  the  publishers. 


\ 

M  The  American  Spirit  ■ 

The  presence  of  the  wrong  or  right  ] 

He  rather  felt  than  saw. 

He  felt  that  wrong  with  wrong  partakes, 

That  nothing  stands  alone, 
That  whoso  gives  the  motive,  makes       '  \ 

His  brother's  sin  his  own.  ! 

And,  pausing  not  for  doubtful  choice  j 

Of  evils  great  or  small,  ^ 

He  hstened  to  that  inward  voice  . 

Which  called  away  from  all.  ■ 

0  Spirit  of  that  early  day,  i 

So  pure  and  strong  and  true,  '■ 
Be  with  us  in  the  narrow  way 

Our  faithful  fathers  knew.  - 

Give  strength  the  e\il  to  forsake,  'I 

The  cross  of  Truth  to  bear,  j 

And  love  and  reverent  fear  to  make  • 

Our  daily  Uves  a  prayer  I  \ 

GOD   MAKES  A  PATH^  \ 

Roger  Williams  (1604-1683)  : 

God  makes  a  path,  provides  a  guide, 

And  feeds  in  wilderness. 
His  glorious  name  while  breath  remains,  '. 

0  that  I  may  confess !  /  i 

Lost  many  a  time,  I  have  had  no  guide,  > 

No  house,  but  hollow  tree,  ] 

In  stormy  winter  night  no  fire,  1 

No  food,  no  company.  \ 

I i 

1  The   great   contribution    which    Rhode    Island    under    Williams  I 

made  to  the  American  spirit  was  that  of  rehgious  toleration. 


The  Pioneer  Spirit  25 

In  Him  I  found  a  house,  a  bed, 

A  table,  company : 
No  cup's  so  bitter,  but's  made  sweet, 

When  God  shall  sweet'ning  be. 


WESTERN  IDEALISM  1 
Frederick  Jackson  Turner  (1861-        ) 

If  now  in  the  way  of  recapitulation  we  try  to  pick  out 
from  the  influences  that  have  gone  to  the  making  of 
Western  democracy  the  factors  which  constitute  the  net 
result  of  this  movement,  we  shall  have  to  mention  at  least 
the  following : 

Most  important  of  all  has  been  the  fact  that  an  area 
of  free  land  has  continually  lain  on  the  western  border 
of  the  settled  area  of  the  United  States.  Whenever 
social  conditions  tended  to  crystallize  in  the  East,  when- 
ever capital  tended  to  press  upon  labor  or  political  re- 
straints to  impede  the  freedom  of  the  mass,  there  was 
this  gate  of  escape  to  the  free  conditions  of  the  frontier. 
These  free  lands  promoted  individualism,  economic 
equality,  freedom  to  rise,  democracy.  Men  would  not 
accept  inferior  wages  and  a  permanent  position  of  social 
subordination  when  this  promised  land  of  freedom  and 


*  This  extract  is  taken  from  an  article  published  in  the  Allanlic 
Monthly  foT  January,  1903,  entitled  "  Contributions  of  the  West 
to  American  Democracy."  The  author  has  dealt  with  the  same 
subject  in  a  book  entitled  "The  Rise  of  the  New  West,"  and  in 
various  pamphlets  and  magazine  articles.  He  was  formerly  pro- 
fessor of  American  History  in  the  University  of  Wisconsin  and 
now  holds  that  position  in  Harvard  University. 
Used  by  permission  of  the  author  and  of  the  Atlantic  Monthly 
Company. 


26  The  American  Spirit 

equality  was  theirs  for  the  taking.  Who  would  rest 
content  under  oppressive  legislative  conditions  when 
with  a  sHght  effort  he  might  reach  a  land  wherein  to 
become  a  co-worker  in  the  building  of  free  cities  and  free 
States  on  the  lines  of  his  own  ideal?  In  a  word,  then, 
free  lands  meant  free  opportunities.  Their  existence  has 
differentiated  the  American  democracy  from  the  democ- 
racies which  have  preceded  it,  because  ever,  as  democ- 
racy in  the  East  took  the  form  of  a  highly  specialized 
and  comphcated  industrial  society,  in  the  West  it  kept 
in  touch  with  primitive  conditions,  and  by  action  and 
reaction  these  two  forces  have  shaped  our  history. 

In  the  next  place,  these  free  lands  and  this  treasury  of 
industrial  resources  have  existed  over  such  vast  spaces 
that  they  have  demanded  of  democracy  increasing  spa- 
ciousness of  design  and  power  of  execution.  Western 
democracy  is  contrasted  with  the  democracy  of  all  other 
times  in  the  largeness  of  the  tasks  to  which  it  has  set  its 
hand,  and  in  the  vast  achievements  which  it  has  wrought 
out  in  the  control  of  nature  and  of  pohtics.  Upon  the 
region  of  the  Middle  West  alone  could  be  set  down  all 
of  the  great  countries  of  central  Europe,  —  France, 
Germany,  Italy,  and  Austro-Hungary,  —  and  there  would 
still  be  a  liberal  margin.  It  would  be  difficult  to  over- 
emphasize the  importance  of  this  training  upon  democ- 
racy. Never  before  in  the  history  of  the  world  has  a 
democracy  existed  on  so  vast  an  area  and  handled  things 
in  the  gross  with  such  success,  with  such  largeness  of 
design  and  such  grasp  upon  the  means  of  execution. 
In  short,  democracy  has  learned  in  the  West  of  the  United 
States  how  to  deal  with  the  problem  of  magnitude.  The 
old  historic  democracies  were  but  httle  States  with  primi- 
tive economic  conditions.  .  .  . 


The  Pioneer  Spirit  27 

Western  democracy  has  been  from  the  time  of  its 
birth  idealistic.  The  very  fact  of  the  wilderness  appealed 
to  men,  as  a  fair,  blank  page  on  which  to  write  a  new 
chapter  in  the  story  of  man's  struggle  for  a  higher  type 
of  society.  The  Western  wilds,  from  the  AUeghanies 
to  the  Pacific,  constitute  the  richest  free  gift  that  was 
ever  spread  out  before  civihzed  man.  To  the  peasant 
and  artisan  of  the  Old  World,  bound  by  the  chains  of 
social  class,  as  old  as  custom  and  as  inevitable  as  fate, 
the  West  offered  an  exit  into  a  free  life  and  greater  well- 
being  among  the  bounties  of  nature,  into  the  midst  of 
resources  that  demanded  manly  exertion,  and  that  gave 
in  return  the  chance  for  indefinite  ascent  in  the  scale 
of  social  advance.  "To  each  she  offered  gifts  after  his 
will."  Never  again  can  such  an  opportunity  come  to 
the  sons  of  men.  It  was  unique,  and  the  thing  is  so 
near  us,  so  much  a  part  of  our  lives,  that  we  do  not  even 
yet  comprehend  its  vast  significance.  The  existence  of 
this  land  of  opportunity  has  made  America  the  goal  of 
idealists  from  the  days  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers.  With 
all  the  materialism  of  the  pioneer  movement,  this  ideal- 
istic conception  of  the  vacant  lands  as  an  opportunity 
for  a  new  order  of  things  is  unmistakably  present.  Kip- 
ling has  given  it  expression : 

We  were  dreamers,  dreaming  greatly,  in  the  man-stifled  town ; 
We  yearned  beyond  the  sky-hne  where  the  strange  roads  go  down. 
Came  the  Whisper,  came  the  Vision,  came  the  Power  with  the  Need 
Till  the  Soul  that  is  not  man's  soul  was  lent  us  to  lead. 
As  the  deer  breaks  —  as  the  steer  breaks  —  from  the  herd  where 

they  graze, 
In  the  faith  of  little  children  we  went  on  our  ways. 
Then  the  wood  failed  —  then  the  food  failed  —  then  the  last  water 

dried  — 
In  the  faith  of  Uttle  children  we  lay  down  and  died. 


28  The  American  Spirit 

On  the  sand-drift  —  on  the  veldt-side  —  in  the  fern-scrub  we  lay. 
That  our  sons  might  follow  after  by  the  bones  on  the  way. 
Follow  after  —  follow  after !     We  have  watered  the  root 
And  the  bud  has  come  to  blossom  that  ripens  for  fruit ! 
Follow  after  —  we  are  waiting  by  the  trails  that  we  lost 
For  the  sound  of  many  footsteps,  for  the  tread  of  a  host. 
Follow  after  —  follow  after  —  for  the  harvest  is  sown ; 
By  the  bones  about  the  wayside  ye  shall  come  to  your  own  1 

The  ideaKstic  influence  is  not  limited  to  the  dreamers' 
conception  of  a  new  State.  It  gave  to  the  pioneer  farmer 
and  city  builder  a  restless  energy,  a  quick  capacity  for 
judgment  and  action,  a  belief  in  liberty,  freedom  of  op- 
portunity, and  a  resistance  to  the  domination  of  class 
which  infused  a  vitality  and  power  into  the  individual 
atoms  of  this  democratic  mass.  Even  as  he  dwelt  among 
the  stumps  of  his  newly  cut  clearing,  the  pioneer  had  the 
creative  vision  of  a  new  order  of  society.  In  imagina- 
tion he  pushed  back  his  forest  boundary  to  the  confines 
of  a  mighty  Commonwealth ;  he  willed  that  log  cabins 
should  become  the  lofty  buildings  of  great  cities.  He 
decreed  that  his  children  should  enter  into  a  heritage  of 
education,  comfort,  and  social  welfare,  and  for  this  ideal 
he  bore  the  scars  of  the  wilderness.  .  .  .  Let  us  see  to 
it  that  the  ideals  of  the  pioneer  in  his  log  cabin  shall  en- 
large into  the  spiritual  life  of  a  democracy  where  civil 
power  shall  dominate  and  utilize  individual  achieve- 
ment for  the  common  good. 


The  Pioneer  Spirit  29 

THE  EXODUS  FOR  OREGON  ^ 

Joaquin  Miller  (1841-1911) 

A  tale  half  told  and  hardly  understood ; 

The  talk  of  bearded  men  that  chanced  to  meet, 

That  leaned  on  long  quaint  rifles  in  the  wood, 

That  looked  in  fellow  faces,  spoke  discreet 

And  low,  as  half  in  doubt  and  in  defeat 

Of  hope ;  a  tale  it  was  of  lands  of  gold 

That  lay  below  the  sun.     Wild-winged  and  fleet 

It  spread  among  the  swift  Missouri's  bold 

Unbridled  men,  and  reached  to  where  Ohio  roUed. 

Then  long  chained  lines  of  yoked  and  patient  steers : 
Then  long  white  trains  that  pointed  to  the  west. 
Beyond  the  savage  west ;  the  hopes  and  fears 
Of  blunt,  untutored  men,  who  hardly  guessed 
Their  course ;  the  brave  and  silent  women,  dressed 
In  homely  spun  attire,  the  boys  in  bands, 
The  cheery  babes  that  laughed  at  all,  and  blessed 
The  doubting  hearts,  with  laughing,  hfted  hands  I 
What  exodus  for  far  untraversed  lands  I 

The  Plains !    The  shouting  drivers  at  the  wheel ; 
The  crash  of  leather  whips ;  the  crush  and  roll 

Cincinnatus  Heine  Miller  was  born  in  Indiana,  and  in  early  boy- 
hood emigrated  with  his  parents  to  Oregon.  The  family  was 
one  of  those  which  made  the  great  migration  across  the  Western 
plains  in  ox  wagons,  during  the  years  following  the  gold  discoveries 
m  California  in  1849,  and  the  early  life  of  Miller  was  spent  upon 
the  Pacific  Coast.  Soon  after  the  appearance  of  a  poem  dealing 
with  the  career  of  Joaquin  Murietta,  a  young  Mexican  bandit,  the 
author  was  nicknamed  Joaquin  Miller,  and  most  of  his  later  work 
appeared  under  this  name. 

From  Joaquin  Miller's  Poems  (Bear  Edition),  Vol.  II.  Copy- 
right, 1909,  by  C.  H.  Miller.  PubHshed  by  Harr  Wagner  Publish- 
ing Company,  San  Francisco.    Used  by  permission  of  the  publishers. 


30                       The  American  Spirit  i 

Of  wheels ;  the  groan  of  yokes  and  grinding  steel 

And  iron  chain,  and  lo !  at  last  the  whole 

Vast  line;  that  reached  as  if  to  touch  the  goal, 

Began  to  stretch  and  stream  away  and  wind  j 

Toward  the  West,  as  if  with  one  control ;  j 

Then  hope  loomed  fair,  and  home  lay  far  behind ;  j 

Before,  the  boundless  plain,  and  fiercest  of  their  kind.  j 

1 
I 

At  first  the  way  lay  green  and  fresh  as  seas,  : 

And  far  away  as  any  reach  of  wave ;  j 

The  sunny  streams  went  by  in  belt  of  trees ;  j 

And  here  and  there  the  tasseFd  tawny  brave  j 

Swept  by  on  horse,  looked  back,  stretched  forth  and  gave  j 
A  yell  of  warn,  and  then  did  wheel  and  rein 
Awhile,  and  point  away,  dark-browed  and  grave, 
Into  the  far  and  dim  and  distant  plain 
With  signs  and  prophecies,  and  then  plunged  on  again. 

j 

Some  hills  at  last  began  to  lift  and  break ;  j 

Some  streams  began  to  fail  of  wood  and  tide,  ! 
The  somber  plain  began  betime  to  take 

A  hue  of  weary  brown,  and  wild  and  wide  ] 

It  stretched  its  naked  breast  on  every  side.  \ 

A  babe  was  heard  at  last  to  cry  for  bread  1 

Amid  the  deserts ;  cattle  lowed  and  died,  ! 

And  dying  men  went  by  with  broken  tread,  ; 

And  left  a  long  black  serpent  hne  of  wreck  and  dead.  \ 

Strange  hungered  birds,  black-winged  and  still  as  death,  j 

And  crowned  of  red  with  hooked  beaks,  blew  low  ^ 

And  close  about,  till  we  could  touch  their  breath  —  i 

Strange  unnamed  birds,  that  seemed  to  come  and  go  ' 

In  circles  now,  and  now  direct  and  slow,  \ 

i 


The  Pioneer  Spirit  31 

i 

Continual,  yet  never  touch  the  earth ;  i 

SHm  foxes  sHd  and  shuttled  to  and  fro  i 

At  times  across  the  dusty  weary  dearth  ! 

Of  life,  looked  back,  then  sank  like  crickets  in  a  hearth.  • 

I 

Then  dust  arose,  a  long  dim  line  hke  smoke  j 

From  out  of  riven  earth.     The  wheels  went  groaning  by,  ^ 
Ten  thousand  feet  in  harness  and  in  yoke, 
They  tore  the  ways  of  ashen  alkali. 

And  desert  winds  blew  sudden,  swift  and  dry.  j 

The  dust !  it  sat  upon  and  filled  the  train  1  j 

It  seemed  to  fret  and  fill  the  very  sky.  j 

Lo !  dust  upon  the  beasts,  the  tent,  the  plain,  \ 

And  dust,  alas  I  on  breasts  that  rose  not  up  again.  j 

They  sat  in  desolation  and  in  dust  1 

By  dried-up  desert  streams ;  the  mother's  hands  ; 

Hid  all  her  bended  face ;  the  cattle  thrust  i 

Their  tongues  and  faintly  called  across  the  lands. 

The  babes,  that  knew  not  what  this  way  through  sands 

Could  mean,  did  ask  if  it  would  end  today.  ; 

The  panting  wolves  shd  by,  red-eyed,  in  bands  ; 

To  pools  beyond.     The  men  looked  far  away,  '\ 

And,  silent,  saw  that  all  a  boundless  desert  lay.                              .  i 

They  rose  by  night ;  they  struggled  on  and  on 
As  thin  and  still  as  ghosts ;  then  here  and  there 

Beside  the  dusty  way  before  the  dawn,  . 

Men  silent  laid  them  down  in  their  despair  j 

And  died.     But  woman  !    Woman,  frail  as  fair  I  \ 

May  man  have  strength  to  give  to  you  your  due ;  j 

You  faltered  not,  nor  murmured  anywhere,  ? 

You  held  your  babes,  held  to  your  course,  an(i  you  j 

Bore  on  through  burning  hell  your  double  burdens  through,  1 


32  The  American  Spirit 

Men  stood  at  last,  the  decimated  few, 

Above  a  land  of  running  streams,  and  they  ? 

They  pushed  aside  the  boughs,  and  peering  through 

Beheld  afar  the  cool  refreshing  bay ; 

Then  some  did  curse,  and  some  bend  hands  to  pray ; 

But  some  looked  back  upon  the  desert,  wide 

And  desolate  with  death,  then  all  the  day 

They  mourned.    But  one,  with  nothing  left  beside 

His  dog  to  love,  crept  down  among  the  ferns  and  died. 


11.    TWO  GREAT  AMERICANS 


WASHINGTON! 
Lord  George  Gordon  Byron  (1788-1824) 

Where  may  the  wearied  eye  repose, 

When  gazing  on  the  Great ; 
Where  neither  guilty  glory  glows, 

Nor  despicable  state  ? 
Yes  —  one  —  the  first  —  the  last  —  the  best  — 
The  Cincinnatus  of  the  West, 

Whom  envy  dared  not  hate. 
Bequeathed  the  name  of  Washington, 
To  make  man  blush  there  was  but  one  I 

THE  CHARACTER  OF  WASHINGTON  ^ 
Henry  Cabot  Lodge  (1850-        ) 

Washington  stands  among  the  greatest  men  of  human 
history,  and  those  in  the  same  rank  with  him  are  very 
few.  Whether  measured  by  what  he  did,  or  what  he  was, 
or  by  the  effect  of  his  work  upon  the  history  of  mankind, 
in  every  aspect  he  is  entitled  to  the  place  he  holds  among 
the  greatest  of  his  race. 

Few  men  in  all  time  have  such  a  record  of  achievement. 
Still  fewer  can  show,  at  the  end  of  a  career  so  crowded 
with  high  deeds  and  memorable  victories,  a  Ufe  so  free 

1  From  Works  of  Lord  Byron,  published  by  John  Murray, 
London,  1832. 

2  From  "Hero  Tales  from  American  History,"  by  Henry  Cabot 
Lodge  and  Theodore  Roosevelt.  Copyright,  1895,  by  The  Century 
Company,  New  York.     Used  by  permission  of  the  publishers. 

33 


34  The  American  Spirit 

from  spot,  a  character  so  unselfish  and  so  pure,  a  fame  so 
void  of  doubtful  points  demanding  either  defense  or  ex- 
planation. Eulogy  of  such  a  life  is  needless,  but  it  is 
always  important  to  recall  and  freshly  to  remember  just 
what  manner  of  man  he  was. 

In  the  first  place,  he  was  physically  a  striking  figure. 
He  was  very  tall,  powerfully  made,  with  a  strong,  hand- 
some face.  He  was  remarkably  muscular  and  powerful. 
As  a  boy,  he  was  a  leader  in  all  outdoor  sports.  No  one 
could  fling  the  bar  farther  than  he,  and  no  one  could  ride 
more  difficult  horses.  As  a  young  man,  he  became  a 
woodsman  and  hunter.  Day  after  day  he  could  tramp 
through  the  wilderness  with  his  gun  and  his  surveyor's 
chain,  and  then  sleep  at  night  beneath  the  stars.  He 
feared  no  exposure  or  fatigue,  and  he  outdid  the  hardiest 
backwoodsman  in  following  a  winter  trail  and  swimming 
icy  streams.  This  habit  of  vigorous  bodily  exercise  he 
carried  through  life.  Whenever  he  was  at  Mount  Vernon 
he  gave  a  large  part  of  his  time  to  fox  hunting,  riding 
after  his  hounds  through  the  most  difficult  country.  His 
physical  power  and  endurance  counted  for  much  in  his 
success  when  he  commanded  his  army,  and  when  the 
heavy  anxieties  of  general  and  President  weighed  upon 
his  mind  and  heart. 

He  was  an  educated  but  not  a  learned  man.  He  read 
well  and  remembered  what  he  read,  but  his  life  was  from 
the  beginning  a  life  of  action,  and  the  world  of  men  his 
school.  He  was  not  a  military  genius  like  Hannibal,  or 
Caesar,  or  Napoleon,  of  which  the  world  has  had  only 
three  or  four  examples.  But  he  was  a  great  soldier  of 
the  type  which  the  English  race  has  produced,  Uke  Mgu*!- 
borough  and  Cromwell,  WelKngton,  Grant,  and  Lee. 
He  was  patient  under  defeat,  capable  of  large  combina- 


Two  Great  Americans  35 

tions,  a  stubborn  and  often  reckless  fighter,  a  winner  of 
battles,  but  much  more,  a  conclusive  winner  in  a  long  war 
of  varying  fortunes.  He  was,  in  addition,  what  very  few 
great  soldiers  or  commanders  have  ever  been,  a  great 
constitutional  statesman,  able  to  lead  a  people  along  the 
paths  of  free  government  without  undertaking  himself 
to  play  the  part  of  the  strong  man,  the  usurper,  or  the 
savior  of  society. 

He  was  a  very  silent  man.  Of  no  man  of  equal  impor- 
tance in  the  world's  history  have  we  so  few  sayings  of  a 
personal  kind.  He  was  ready  enough  to  talk  or  to  write 
about  the  pubUc  duties  which  he  had  in  hand,  but  he  sel- 
dom talked  of  himself.  Yet  there  can  be  no  greater  error 
than  to  suppose  Washington  cold  and  unfeeling  because 
of  his  silence  and  reserve.  He  was  by  nature  a  man  of 
strong  desires  and  stormy  passions.  Now  and  again  he 
would  break  out,  even  as  late  as  the  presidency,  into  a 
gust  of  anger  that  would  sweep  everything  before  it. 
He  was  always  reckless  of  personal  danger,  and  had  a 
fierce  fighting  spirit  which  nothing  could  check  when 
once  unchained. 

But  as  a  rule  these  fiery  impulses  and  strong  passions 
were  under  the  control  of  an  iron  will,  and  they  never 
clouded  his  judgment  or  warped  his  keen  sense  of  justice. 

But  if  he  was  not  of  a  cold  nature,  still  less  was  he  hard 
or  unfeeling.  His  pity  always  went  out  to  the  poor,  the 
oppressed,  or  the  unhappy,  and  he  was  all  that  was  kind 
and  gentle  to  those  about  him. 

We  have  to  look  carefully  into  his  life  to  learn  all  these 
tilings,  for  the  world  saw  only  a  silent,  reserved  man,  of 
courteous  and  serious  manner,  who  seemed  to  stand 
alone  and  apart,  and  who  impressed  every  one  who  came 
near  him  with  a  sense  of  awe  and  reverence. 


36  The  American  Spirit 

One  quality  he  had  which  was,  perhaps,  more  char- 
acteristic of  the  man  and  his  greatness  than  any  other. 
This  was  his  great  veracity  of  mind.  He  was,  of  course, 
the  soul  of  truth  and  honor,  but  he  was  even  more  than 
that.  He  never  deceived  himself.  He  always  looked 
facts  squarely  in  the  face  and  dealt  with  them  as  such, 
dreaming  no  dreams,  cherishing  no  delusions,  asking  no 
impossibilities, — just  to  others  as  to  himself,  and  thus 
winning  alike  in  war  and  in  peace. 

He  gave  dignity  as  well  as  victory  to  his  country  and 
his  cause.  He  was,  in  truth,  a  "character, for  after  ages 
to  admire." 

WASHINGTON  ^ 

James  Russell  Lowell  (1819-1891) 

Soldier  and  statesman,  rarest  unison  ; 

High-poised  example  of  great  duties  done 

Simply  as  breathing,  a  world's  honors  worn 

As  life's  indifferent  gifts  to  all  men  born  ; 

Dumb  for  himself,  unless  it  were  to  God, 

But  for  his  barefoot  soldiers  eloquent, 

Tramping  the  snow  to  coral  where  they  trod. 

Held  by  his  awe  in  hollow-eyed  content ; 

Modest,  yet  firm  as  Nature's  self ;  unblamed 

Save  by  the  men  his  nobler  temper  shamed ; 

Never  seduced  through  show  of  present  good 

By  other  than  unsetting  lights  to  steer 

New-trimmed  in  Heaven,  nor  than  his  steadfast  mood 

^  From  "Under  the  Old  Elm"  in  Lowell's  Poetical  Works  (River- 
side Edition),  Vol.  IV.  Copyright,  1890,  by  James  Russell  Lowell. 
Published  by  Houghton  Mifflin  Company,  Boston.  Used  by  per- 
mission of  the  publishers. 


Two  Great  Americans  37 

More  steadfast,  far  from  rashness  as  from  fear, 

Rigid,  but  with  himself  first,  grasping  still 

In  swerveless  poise  the  wave-beat  helm  of  will ; 

Not  honored  then  or  now  because  he  wooed 

The  popular  voice,  but  that  he  still  withstood ; 

Broad-minded,  higher-souled,  there  is  but  one 

Who  was  all  this  and  ours,  and  all  men's  —  Washington. 

COUNSELS  OF  WASHINGTON  ^ 

George- Washington  (1732-1799) 

• 

Interwoven  as  is  the  love  of  hberty  with  every  ligament 
of  your  hearts,  no  recommendation  of  mine  is  necessary 
to  fortify  or  confirm  the  attachment. — 

The  Unity  of  Government  which  constitutes  you  one 
people,  is  also  now  dear  to  you.  —  It  is  justly  so ;  —  for 
it  is  a  main  Pillar  in  the  Edifice  of  your  real  independence ; 
the  support  of  your  tranquillity  at  home ;  your  peace 
abroad ;  of  your  safety ;  of  your  prosperity  in  every  shape  ; 
of  that  very  Liberty,  which  you  so  highly  prize.  —  But 
as  it  is  easy  to  foresee,  that,  from  different  causes,  and 
from  different  quarters,  much  pains  will  be  taken,  many 
artifices  employed,  to  weaken  in  your  minds  the  conviction 
of  this  truth  ;  —  as  this  is  the  point  in  your  political  fortress 
against  which  the  batteries  of  internal  and  external  enemies 

*  From  the  "Farewell  Address"  of  President  Washington,  issued 
through  the  pubhc  press  in  September,  1796,  near  the  close  of  his 
second  term.  President  Washington  was  not  given  to  frequent 
public  addresses,  and  his  state  papers  are  few.  This  address  is 
quite  the  most  important  of  these,  and  has  long  exerted  a  pro- 
found, influence  upon  the  thoughts  of  his  countrymen.  While 
certain  of  his  views  have  been  rendered  somewhat  obsolete  by  the 
development  of  political  forms  of  free  government  and  especially 
by  modern  means  of  rapid  communication,  yet  fundamentally  his 
advice  is  as  true  today  as  when  written. 


38  The  American  Spirit 

will  be  most  constantly  and  actively  (though  often  covertly 
and  insidiously)  directed,  it  is  of  infinite  moment,  that 
you  should  properly  estimate  the  immense  value  of  your 
national  Union  to  your  collective  and  individual  happiness ; 
—  that  you  should  cherish  a  cordial,  habitual,  and  immov- 
able attachment  to  it;  accustoming  yourselves  to  think 
and  speatk  of  it  as  of  the  Palladium  of  your  political  safety 
and  prosperity ;  watching  for  its  preservation  with  jealous 
anxiety;  discountenancing  whatever  may  suggest  even 
a  suspicion  that  it  can  in  any  event  be  abandoned,  and 
indignantly  frowning  upon  the  first  dawning  of  every 
attempt  to  alienate  any  portion  of  our  Country  from  the 
rest,  or  to  enfeeble  the  sacred  ties  which  now  link  together 
the  various  parts. 

For  this  you  have  every  inducement  of  sympathy  and 
interest.  —  Citizens  by  birth  or  choice  of  a  common 
country,  that  country  has  a  right  to  concentrate  your 
affections.  —  The  name  of  AMERICAN,  which  belongs 
to  you,  in  your  national  capacity,  must  always  exalt  the 
just  pride  of  Patriotism,  more  than  any  appellation 
derived  from  local  discriminations.  —  With  slight  shades 
of  difference,  you  have  the  same  Religion,  Manners, 
Habits,  and  poHtical  Principles.  —  You  have  in  a  common 
cause  fought  and  triumphed  together.  The  Independence 
and  Liberty  you  possess  are  the  work  of  joint  councils, 
and  joint  efforts  —  of  common  dangers,  sufferings  and 
successes.  ... 

While  then  every  part  of  our  Country  thus  feels  an 
immediate  and  particular  interest  in  Union,  all  the  parts 
combined  in  the  united  mass  of  means  and  efforts  cannot 
fail  to  find  greater  strength,  greater  resource,  proportion- 
ably  greater  security  from  external  danger,  a  less  frequent 
interruption  of  their  Peace  by  foreign  Nations ;    and, 


Two  Great  Americans  39 

what  is  of  inestimable  value  I  they  must  derive  from  Union 
an  exemption  from  those  broils  and  wars  between  them- 
selves, which  so  frequently  afflict  neighboring  countries, 
not  tied  together  by  the  same  government ;  which  their 
own  rivalships  alone  would  be  sufficient  to  produce; 
but  which  opposite  foreign  alliances,  attachments,  and 
intrigues  would  stimulate  and  embitter.  —  Hence  Hke- 
wise  they  will  avoid  the  necessity  of  those  overgrown 
Military  estabhshments,  which  under  any  form  of  govern- 
ment, are  inauspicious  to  liberty,  and  which  are  to  be 
regarded  as  particularly  hostile  to  Repubhcan  Liberty: 
In  this  sense  it  is,  that  your  Union  ought  to  be  considered 
as  a  main  prop  of  your  liberty,  and  that  the  love  of  the 
one  ought  to  endear  to  you  the  preservation  of  the 
other.  .  .  . 

In  contemplating  the  causes  which  may  disturb  our 
Union,  it  occurs  as  matter  of  serious  concern,  that  any 
ground  should  have  been  furnished  for  characterizing 
parties  by  Geographical  discriminations  —  Northern  and 
Southern  —  Atlantic  and  Western  ;  whence  designing 
men  may  endeavor  to  excite  a  behef,  that  there  is  a  real 
difference  of  local  interests  and  views.  One  of  the  ex- 
pedients of  Party  to  acquire  influence,  within  particular 
districts,  is  to  misrepresent  the  opinions  and  aims  of 
other  districts.  —  You  cannot  shield  yourselves  too  much 
against  the  jealousies  and  heartburnings  which  spring 
from  these  misrepresentations ;  —  they  tend  to  render 
alien  to  each  other  those  who  ought  to  be  bound  together 
by  fraternal  afl'ection.  .  .  . 

All  obstructions  to  the  execution  of  the  Laws,  all  com- 
binations and  associations,  under  whatever  plausible 
character,  with  the  real  design  to  direct,  control,  counter- 
act, or  awe  the  regular  deliberation  and  action  of  the 


40  The  American  Spirit 

constituted  authorities,  are  destructive  of  this  fundamental 
principle,  and  of  fatal  tendency.  —  They  serve  to  organize 
faction,  to  give  it  an  artificial  and  extraordinary  force  — 
to  put  in  the  place  of  the  delegated  will  of  the  Nation, 
the  will  of  a  party ;  —  often  a  small  but  artful  and  enter- 
prising minority  of  the  community ;  and,  according  to 
the  alternate  triumphs  of  different  parties,  to  make  the 
public  administration  the  mirror  of  the  ill-concerted 
and  incongruous  projects  of  faction,  rather  than  the  organ 
of  consistent  and  wholesome  plans  digested  by  common 
councils,  and  modified  by  mutual  interests.  .  .  . 

I  have  already  intimated  to  you  the  danger  of  Parties 
in  the  State,  with  particular  reference  to  the  founding 
of  them  on  Geographical  discriminations.  —  Let  me  now 
take  a  more  comprehensive  view,  and  warn  you  in  the 
most  solemn  manner  against  the  baneful  effects  of  the 
Spirit  of  Party,  generally. 

This  Spirit,  unfortunately,  is  inseparable  from  our 
nature,  having  its  root  in  the  strongest  passions  of  the 
human  mind.  —  It  exists  under  different  shapes  in  all 
Governments,  more  or  less  stifled,  controlled,  or  repressed ; 
but,  in  those  of  the  popular  form,  it  is  seen  in  its  greatest 
rankness,  and  is  truly  their  worst  enemy.  — 

The  alternate  domination  of  one  faction  over  another, 
sharpened  by  the  spirit  of  revenge  natural  to  party  dissen- 
sion, which  in  different  ages  and  countries  has  perpetrated 
the  most  horrid  enormities,  is  itself  a  frightful  despotism. 
—  But  this  leads  at  length  to  a  more  formal  and  permanent 
despotism.  —  The  disorders  and  miseries,  which  result, 
gradually  incline  the  minds  of  men  to  seek  security  and 
repose  in  the  absolute  power  of  an  Individual :  and  sooner 
or  later  the  chief  of  some  prevailing  faction,  more  able  or 
more  fortunate  than  his  competitors,  turns  this  disposi- 


Two  Great  Americans  41 

tion  to  the  purposes  of  his  own  elevation,  on  the  ruins 
of  Pubiic  Liberty.  .  .  . 

Of  all  the  dispositions  and  habits,  which  lead  to  political 
prosperity,  ReUgion  and  Morahty  are  indispensable 
supports.  —  In  vain  would  that  man  claim  the  tribute 
of  Patriotism,  who  should  labor  to  subvert  these  great 
Pillars  of  human  happiness,  these  firmest  props  of  the 
duties  of  Men  and  Citizens.  —  The  mere  Politician, 
equally  with  the  pious  man,  ought  to  respect  and  to  cherish 
them.  —  A  volume  could  not  trace  all  their  connections 
with  private  and  public  felicity.  —  Let  it  simply  be  asked 
where  is  the  security  for  property,  for  reputation,  for 
life,  if  the  sense  of  religious  obligation  desert  the  oaths, 
which  are  the  instruments  of  investigation  in  Courts  of 
Justice  ?  And  let  us  with  caution  indulge  the  supposition, 
that  morahty  can  be  maintained  without  religion.  — 
Whatever  may  be  conceded  to  the  influence  of  refined 
education  on  minds  of  peculiar  structure  —  reason  and 
experience  both  forbid  us  to  expect,  that  national  morahty 
can  prevail  in  exclusion  of  reUgious  principle.  — 

'Tis  substantially  true,  that  virtue  or  morality  is  a 
necessary  spring  of  popular  government.  —  The  rule 
indeed  extends  with  more  or  less  force  to  every  species  of 
Free  Government.  —  Who  that  is  a  sincere  friend  to  it 
can  look  with  indifference  upon  attempts  to  shake  the 
foundation  of  the  fabric  ?  — 

Promote,  then,  as  an  object  of  primary  importance, 
institutions  for  the  general  diffusion  of  knowledge.  In 
proportion  as  the  structure  of  a  governmelit  gives  force 
to  pubhc  opinion,  it  is  essential  that  pubhc  opinion  should 
be  enhghtened.  ... 

Observe  good  faith  and  justice  towards  all  Nations. 
Cultivate  peace  and  harmony  with  all.  —  Rehgion  and 


42  The  American  Spirit 

Morality  enjoin  this  conduct;  and  can  it  be  that  good 
policy  does  not  equally  enjoin  it  ?  —  It  will  be  worthy  of 
a  free,  enlightened,  and,  at  no  distant  period,  a  great 
nation,  to  give  to  mankind  the  magnanimous  and  too 
novel  example  of  a  People  always  guided  by  an  exalted 
justice  and  benevolence.  .  .  . 

Harmony,  liberal  intercourse  with  all  nations,  are  rec- 
ommended by  poUcy,  humanity,  and  interest.  But 
even  our  commercial  policy  should  hold  an  equal  and 
impartial  hand  :  —  neither  seeking  nor  granting  exclusive 
favors  or  preferences ;  —  consulting  the  natural  course  of 
things ;  —  diffusing  and  diversifying  by  gentle  means  the 
streams  of  commerce,  but  forcing  nothing;  establishing 
with  Powers  so  disposed  —  in  order  to  give  trade  a  stable 
course,  to  define  the  rights  of  our  Merchants,  and  to 
enable  the  Government  to  support  them  —  conventional 
rules  of  intercourse,  the  best  that  present  circumstances 
and  mutual  opinion  will  permit;  but  temporary,  and 
liable  to  be  from  time  to  time  abandoned  or  varied,  as 
experience  and  circumstances  shall  dictate;  constantly 
keeping  in  view  that  'tis  folly  in  one  nation  to  look 
for  disinterested  favors  from  another,  —  that  it  must 
pay  with  a  portion  of  its  independence  for  whatever  it 
may  accept  under  that  character  —  that  by  such  accept- 
ance, it  may  place  itself  in  the  condition  of  having  given 
equivalents  for  nominal  favors  and  yet  of  being  reproached 
with  ingratitude  for  not  giving  more.  .  .  . 

Though,  in  reviewing  the  incidents  of  my  Administra- 
tion, I  am  unconscious  of  intentional  error  —  I  am  never- 
theless too  sensible  of  my  defects  not  to  think  it  probable 
that  I  may  have  committed  many  errors.  —  Whatever 
they  may  be,  I  fervently  beseech  the  Almighty  to  avert  or 
mitigate  the  evils  to  which  they  may  tend.  —  I  shall  also 


Two  Great  Americans  43 

carry  with  me  the  hope  that  my  country  will  never  cease  to 
view  them  with  indulgence;  and  that  after  forty-five 
years  of  my  Hfe  dedicated  to  its  service,  with  an  upright 
zeal,  the  faults  of  incompetent  abiUties  will  be  consigned 
to  oblivion,  as  myself  must  soon  be  to  the  mansions  of 
rest. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  ^ 
James  Russell  Lowell  (1819-1891) 

Such  was  he,  our  Martyr-Chief, 

Whom  late  the  Nation  he  had  led, 

With  ashes  on  her  head. 
Wept  with  the  passion  of  an  angry  grief : 
Forgive  me,  if  from  present  things  I  turn 
To  speak  what  in  my  heart  will  beat  and  burn, 
And  hang  my  wreath  on  his  world-honored  urn. 

Nature,  they  say,  doth  dote, 

And  cannot  make  a  man 

Save  on  some  worn-out  plan. 

Repeating  us  by  rote : 
For  him  her  Old- World  molds  aside  she  threw, 

And  choosing  sweet  clay  from  the  breast 

Of  the  unexhausted  West, 
With  stuff  untainted  shaped  a  hero  new. 
Wise,  steadfast  in  the  strength  of  God,  and  true. 

How  beautiful  to  see 
Once  more  a  shepherd  of  mankind  indeed, 


*  From  "Ode  Recited  at  Harvard  Commemoration,  July  21,  1865," 
in  Lowell's  Poetical  Works  (Riverside  Edition),  Vol.  IV.  Copy- 
right, 1890,  by  James  Russell  Lowell.  Published  by  Houghton 
Mifflin  Company,  Boston.     Used  by  permission  of  the  pubhshers. 


44  The  American  Spirit  I 

Who  loved  his  charge,  but  never  loved  to  lead ;    *  j 

One  whose  meek  flock  the  people  joyed  to  be,  ' 

Not  lured  by  any  cheat  of  birth,  ; 

But  by  his  clear-grained  human  worth,  ■ 

And  brave  old  wisdom  of  sincerity !  ! 

They  knew  that  outward  grace  is  dust ;  I 

They  could  not  choose  but  trust  i 

In  that  sure-footed  mind's  unfaltering  skill  < 

And  supple-tempered  will  ; 

That  bent  hke  perfect  steel  to  spring  again  and  thrust.  i 

His  was  no  lonely  mountain  peak  of  mind,  j 

Thrusting  to  thin  air  o'er  our  cloudy  bars,  i 

A  sea-mark  now,  now  lost  in  vapors  blind ;  I 

Broad  prairie  rather,  genial,  level-lined,  \ 

Fruitful  and  friendly  for  all  human  kind,  ; 

Yet  also  nigh  to  heaven  and  loved  of  loftiest  stars. 
Nothing  of  Europe  here, 

Or,  then,  of  Europe  fronting  mornward  still, 

Ere  any  names  of  Serf  and  Peer  :  j 

Could  Nature's  equal  scheme  deface  \ 

And  thwart  her  genial  will :  I 

Here  was  a  type  of  the  true  elder  race,  ^ 

And  one  of  Plutarch's  men  talked  with  us  face  to  face. 

I  praise  him  not ;  it  were  too  late,  ^ 

And  some  innative  weakness  there  must  be  i 

In  him  who  condescends  to  victory  j 

Such  as  the  Present  gives,  and  cannot  wait,  '>. 

Safe  in  himself  as  in  a  fate,  1 

So  always  firmly  he :  j 

He  knew  to  bide  his  time  I 

And  can  his  fame  abide,  1 

Still  patient  in  his  simple  faith  sublime,  i 

Till  the  wise  years  decide.  j 


Two  Great  Americans  45 

Great  captains,  with  their  guns  and  drums, 
Disturb  our  judgment  for  the  hour, 

But  at  last  silence  comes ; 
These  all  are  gone,  and  standing  like  a  tower, 
Our  children  shall  behold  his  fame, 
The  kindly-earnest,  brave,  foreseeing  man, 
Sagacious,  patient,  dreading  praise,  not  blame,. 
New  birth  of  our  new  soil,  the  first  American. 


SAYINGS  OF  LINCOLN  1 
L.  Lamprey 

Abraham  Lincoln's  homely  way  of  discussing  state 
affairs  in  the  common  phrases  of  a  pioneer  people  was 
not  only  characteristic  of  him,  but  peculiarly  American. 
Never  before  had  a  statesman  appeared  who,  confronted 
with  tremendous  problems,  talked  of  them  in  language 
that  no  one  could  fail  to  understand.  His  advisers  might 
criticize,  but  they  never  made  him  alter  a  sentence  that 
fitted  his  meaning. 

To  such  a  critic  he  once  rephed:  "The  word  says 
exactly  what  I  want  to  say.  There  will  never  be  a  time 
in  this  country  when  the  people  will  not  know  what 
*  sugar-coated'  means." 

When  he  had  framed  a  message  of  international  impor- 
tance, to  be  sent  to  England,  he  said  in  submitting  it  to  a 

•^  The  most  complete  embodiment  of  the  American  spirit  was  the 
great  martyred  President.  This  was  because  he  expressed  so  fully 
the  feelings  and  ideas  of  the  common  man  and  spoke  his  language. 
Anecdotes  reveaUng  these  traits  are  almost  innumerable.  The 
selection  given  here,  which  might  be  extended  indefinitely,  is  a 
compilation  of  a  number  of  such  anecdotes  from  a  variety  of 
sources. 


46  The  American  Spirit 

Cabinet  member  for  approval:  "I  know  that  the  Prime 
Minister  will  understand  this  paragraph,  but  will  James 
who  opens  the  carriage  door  understand  it?  That  is 
what  I  want  to  make  sure  of." 

Lincoln  had  a  particular  objection  to  long-winded 
speeches  and  wordy  reports.  He  once  made  the  comment, 
on  seeing  a  very  bulky  report  presented  by  a  committee : 
*'When  I  send  a  man  to  buy  a  horse  for  me,  I  expect  him 
to  tell  me  the  points  of  the  animal  —  not  to  count  the 
hairs  in  his  tail ! " 

The  mud  in  Washington  streets  suggested  to  him  this 
rule  of  action  in  a  perplexing  crisis:  "Put  your  feet 
down  in  the  right  place,  and  then  stand  firm !" 

He  had  no  illusions  about  the  men  with  whom  he. 
worked.  He  took  them  as  they  were.  "  Every  horse,"  he 
said,  "has  some  faults,  and  so  has  every  man." 

Urged  to  change  a  man  in  office  for  one  who  might  do 
better,  he  gave  the  country  the  proverb:  "Don't  swap 
horses  while  crossing  a  stream." 

No  man  was  quicker  at  repartee  than  Lincoln,  and  none 
more  cautious  in  speech  and  action.  His  instinct  was 
invariably  for  constructive  statesmanship  —  to  make  use 
of  a  man  rather  than  to  offend  him.  He  said  of  himself : 
"I  always  rooted  up  a  thistle  and  planted  a  flower  where  I 
thought  a  flower  would  grow." 

His  whimsical  answer  to  Stanton,  when  urged  to  severe 
measures,  was:  "I  do  not  believe  that  shooting  a  man 
does  him  any  good."  There  are  many  stories  of  the  ex- 
cuses he  found  for  saving  the  lives  of  soldiers  condemned 
to  death  for  some  infraction  of  discipline.  He  once  said 
that  if  he  could  contrive  to  save  a  man's  life  it  rested  him 
after  a  hard  day. 

His  time  and  strength  were  seldom  wasted  in  useless 


Two  Great  Americans  47 

contest.  "If  a  man  will  not  turn  out  for  me,"  he  said, 
*'I  turn  out  for  him,  and  save  a  collision." 

A  wrathful  governor  called  one  day  at  the  White  House 
to  protest  against  a  levy  of  troops,  but  went  away  smiling 
serenely.  "You  must  have  given  him  what  he  wanted," 
was  the  comment  made-  to  Lincoln.  The  President 
smiled.  "Not  exactly.  I  knew  a  farmer  once,  in  Illinois, 
who  had  a  big  stump  in  the  middle  of  his  best  field.  It 
was  too  large  to  move  away,  too  hard  to  be  split,  and 
too  wet  to  burn.  When  he  was  asked  how  he  managed 
about  that  stump,  the  farmer  explained  that  he  just 
plowed  around  it.  That  was  what  I  did  with  the  Gov- 
ernor —  I  plowed  around  him  I" 

Lincoln  sometimes  had  his  hands  full  in  averting  the 
consequences  of  other  people's  blunders.  When  Secretary 
Chase  expressed  regret  one  night  at  not  having  written  a 
certain  letter,  the  President  said  reassuringly:  "Never 
regret  the  letters  you  do  not  write  —  it  is  the  letters  you 
do  write  that  give  you  trouble."  Another  official  wrote  a 
scathing  letter  of  reproof  and  handed  it  over  to  Lincoln 
to  read.  Lincoln  read  it.  "That  is  a  fine  letter,"  he 
said,  nodding  approval,  "very  fine  —  says  exactly  what 
ought  to  be  said  —  just  the  sort  of  letter  to  be  put  in  the 
files.     Now  file  it  away.     Don't  mail  it.'* 

Theories  never  hampered  Lincoln  when  he  had  a 
practical  problem  to  deal  with.  Of  one  such  difficulty 
he  said:  "When  you  have  an  elephant  on  your  hands, 
and  he  wants  to  run  away,  the  best  plan  is  to  let  him  go." 

Of  an  argument  more  plausible  than  sound  he  observed : 
"Yes:  I  should  think  that  if  people  like  that  kind  of 
thing,  it  is  just  the  kind  of  thing  they  would  like." 

No  pretense  of  intellectual,  moral,  or  social  superiority 
ever  moved  Lincoln.    When  one  of  his  visitors  declared 


48  The  American  Spirit 

that  the  Lord  was  on  the  side  of  the  Union,  Lincoln 
answered:  "I  am  not  at  all  concerned  about  that.  I 
know  that  He  is  always  on  the  si^  of  the  right.  It  is 
my  constant  anxiety  and  prayer  thaf  we  shall  be  on  the 
Lord's  side." 

One  of  his  sayings  which  has  passed  into  a  proverb 
had  a  cm-ious  origin.  He  dreamed  one  night  that  he 
heard  some  one  say  of  a  crowd  that  they  were  common- 
looking  men,  and  that  in  his  dream  he  repUed:  "The 
Lord  must  love  common  people :  He  made  so  many  of 
them." 

A  German  baron  who  wished  to  join  the  Union  army 
presented  a  long  list  of  his  titled  and  distinguished 
ancestors.  Lincoln  met  him  with  the  assurance  :  "That 
makes  no  difference  at  all.  You  will  be  treated  with 
entire  fairness!" 

In  a  speech  made  to  the  166th  Ohio  Regiment,  August 
22,  1864,  after  reviewing  it  at  the  White  House,  he  said : 
"  I  happen  temporarily  to  occupy  this  White  House.  I  am 
a  Uving  witness  that  any  one  of  your  children  may  look 
to  come  here  as  my  father's  child  has.  It  is  in  order  that 
each  one  of  you  may  have,  through  this  free  government 
which  we  have  enjoyed,  an  open  field  and  a  fair  chance  for 
your  industry,  enterprise,  and  intelligence,  that  you  may 
all  have  equal  privileges  in  the  race  of  hfe,  with  aU  its 
desirable  human  aspirations,  —  it  is  for  this  the  struggle 
should  be  maintained,  that  we  may  not  lose  our  birth- 
right." 

The  foundation  of  Lincoln's  pohcy  was  his  abiding 
faith  in  the  common  sense  of  the  people.  One  of  his 
sayings  was:  "The  people  are  always  much  neauer  the 
truth  than  politicians  think."  Another  shrewd  epigram 
has  become  famihar :   "You  can  fool  some  of  the  people 


Two  Great  Americans  49 

all  of  the  time,  and  all  of  the  people  some  of  the  time ;  but 
you  cannot  fool  all  of  the  people  all  of  the  time." 

His  behef  in  equal  rights  was  defined  in  the  statement 
used  in  one  of  his  early  speeches :  "I  hold  that  if  the  Al- 
mighty had  ever  made  a  set  of  men  who  should  do  all  of 
the  eating  and  none  of  the  work,  He  would  have  made 
them  with  mouths  only  and  no  hands." 

Chary  of  rhetoric  when  there  was  no  need  of  it,  Lincoln 
could,  as  all  the  world  knows,  give  terse  and  powerful 
expression  to  great  thoughts.  As  he  said  in  one  of  his 
speeches :  *' You  have  seen  two  men  about  to  fight.  One 
brags  of  what  he  means  to  do.  The  other  fellow  says  not 
a  word.  He  is  saving  his  wind  for  the  fight,  and  he  will 
win  —  or  die  a-trying I" 

Every  uncompromising  statement  that  he  made  in  the 
days  of  the  great  conflict  aroused  the  fears  of  politic 
friends,  who  urged  that  he  would  imperil  his  own  future. 
One  such  statement  was  made  in  a  speech  before  his 
election.     It  consists  of  the  famous  paragraph : 

*' A  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand.  I  believe 
that  this  government  cannot  endure  permanently  half 
slave  and  half  free.  I  do  not  expect  this  house  to  fall. 
I  do  not  expect  the  Union  to  be  dissolved.  But  I  do 
expect  that  it  will  cease  to  be  divided." 

His  answer  to  the  critics  was :  "Friends,  if  it  must  be 
that  I  go  down  because  of  this  speech,  then  let  me  go  down 
linked  to  the  truth." 

The  essence  of  representative  government  is  in  another 
saying,  relic  of  this  era  of  battling  political  systems: 
"No  man  is  good  enough  to  rule  another  man  without 
that  other  man's  consent." 

After  half  a  century,  the  practical  philosophy  of  Lin- 
coln, hammered  out  in  the  school  of  experience,  retains 


50  The  American  Spirit 

all  of  its  power  over  American  thought.     Brief,  direct, 
clear,  its  simplicity  cannot  be  overcome  by  argument. 


LINCOLN'S  SYMPATHY! 
Ida  M.  Tarbell  (1857-        ) 

Of  all  the  incidents  told  of  Lincoln's  hospital  visits, 
there  is  nothing  more  characteristic,  better  worth  pres- 
ervation, than  the  one  following,  preserved  by  Dr.  Jerome 
Walker  of  Brooklyn  : 

"Just  one  week  before  his  assassination,  President 
Lincoln  visited  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  at  City  Point, 
Virginia,  and  carefully  examined  the  hospital  arrange- 
ments of  the  Ninth,  Sixth,  Fifth,  Second,  and  Sixteenth 
Corps  hospitals  and  of  the  Engineer  Corps,  there  stationed. 
At  that  time  I  was  an  agent  of  the  United  States  Sanitary 
Commission  attached  to  the  Ninth  Corps  Hospital. 
Though  a  boy  of  nineteen  years,  to  me  was  assigned  the 
duty  of  escorting  the  President  through  our  department 
of  the  hospital  system.  The  reader  can  imagine  the 
pride  with  which  I  fulfilled  the  duty,  and  as  we  went  from 
tent  to  tent  I  could  not  but  note  his  gentleness,  his  friendly 
greetings  to  the  sick  and  wounded,  his  quiet  humor  as 
he  drew  comparisons  between  himself  and  the  very  tall 
and  very  short  men  with  whom  he  came  in  contact, 
and  his  genuine  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  soldiers. 

"Finally,  after  visiting  the  wards  occupied  by  our 
invaUd  and  convalescing  soldiers,  we  came  to  three 
wards  occupied  by  sick  and  wounded  Southern  prisoners. 

1  From  "  Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln."  Copyright,  1900,  by  The  Mac- 
millan  Company,  New  York.  Used  by  permission  of  the  pub- 
lishers. 


Two  Great  Americans  51 

With  a  feeling  of  patriotic  duty,  I  said :  '  Mr.  President, 
you  won't  want  to  go  in  there ;  they  are  only  rebels' 
I  will  never  forget  how  he  stopped  and  gently  laid  his 
large  hand  upon  my  shoulder  and  quietly  answered, 
*You  mean  Confederates.''  And  I  have  meant  Con- 
federates ever  since. 

"There  was  nothing  left  for  me  to  do  after  the  Pres- 
ident's remark  but  to  go  with  him  through  these  three 
wards ;  and  I  could  not  see  but  that  he  was  just  as  kind, 
his  handshakings  just  as  hearty,  his  interest  just  as  real 
for  the  welfare  of  the  men,  as  when  he  was  among  our 
own  soldiers. 

*'As  we  returned  to  headquarters,  the  President  urged 
upon  me  the  importance  of  caring  for  them  as  faithfully 
as  I  should  for  our  own  sick  and  wounded.  When  I 
visited  next  day  these  three  wards,  the  Southern  officers 
and  soldiers  were  full  of  praise  for  'Abe'  Lincoln,  as  they 
called  him,  and  when  a  week  afterwards  the  news  came 
of  the  assassination,  there  was  no  truer  sorrow  nor  greater 
indignation  anywhere  than  was  shown  by  these  same 
Confederates." 

LINCOLN  A  TYPICAL  AMERICAN  ^ 

Phillips  Brooks  (1835-1893) 

It  is  not  necessary  for  me  even  to  sketch  the  biography 
of  Mr.  Lincoln.  He  was  born  in  Kentucky,  fifty-six 
years  ago,  when  Kentucky  was  a  pioneer  state.  He 
hved,  as  boy  and  man,  the  hard  and  needy  life  of  a  back- 

1  From  "The  Life  and  Death  of  Abraham  Lincoln,"  a  sermon 
preached  April  23,  1865.  Printed  in  pamphlet  form  by  Henry 
B.  Ashmead,  Philadelphia,  1865,  at  the  request  of  members  of 
the  congregation. 


52  The  American  Spirit 

woodsman,  a  farmer,  a  river  boatman,  and  finally,  by 
his  own  efforts  at  self-education,  of  an  active,  respected, 
influential  citizen,  in  the  half-organized  and  manifold 
interests  of  a  new  and  energetic  community.  From 
his  boyhood  up  he  hved  in  direct  and  vigorous  contact 
with  men  and  things,  not  as  in  older  states  and  easier 
conditions  with  words  and  theories ;  and  both  his  moral 
convictions  and  intellectual  opinions  gathered  from  that 
contact  a  supreme  degree  of  that  character  by  which  men 
knew  him  —  that  character  which  is  the  most  distinctive 
possession  of  the  best  American  nature  —  that  almost 
indescribable  quahty  which  we  call  in  general  clearness 
or  truth,  and  which  appears  in  the  physical  structure  as 
he,alth,  in  the  moral  constitution  as  honesty,  in  the  mental 
structure  as  sagacity,  and  in  the  region  of  active  hfe 
as  practicalness.  This  one  character,  with  many  sides, 
all  shaped  by  the  same  essential  force  and  testifying  to 
the  same  inner  influences,  was  what  was  powerful  in 
him  and  decreed  for  him  the  life  he  was  to  live  and  the 
death  he  was  to  die.  We  must  take  no  smaller  view  them 
this  of  what  he  was.  ... 

It  is  the  great  boon  of  such  characters  as  Mr.  Lincoln's, 
that  they  reunite  what  God  has  joined  together  and  man 
has  put  asunder.  In  him  was  vindicated  the  greatness 
of  real  goodness  and  the  goodness  of  real  greatness.  The 
twain  were  one  flesh.  Not  one  of  all  the  multitudes  who 
stood  and  looked  up  to  him  for  direction  with  such  a 
loving  and  implicit  trust  can  tell  you  today  whether  the 
wise  judgments  that  he  gave  came  most  from  a  strong 
head  or  a  sound  heart.  If  you  ask  them,  they  are  puzzled. 
There  are  men  as  good  as  he,  but  they  do  bad  things. 
There  are  men  as  intelligent  as  he,  but  they  do  foolish 
things.     In  him  goodness  and  intelligence  combined  and 


Two  Great  Americans  53 

made  their  best  result  of  wisdom.  For  perfect  truth 
consists  not  merely  in  the  right  constituents  of  character, 
but  in  their  right  and  intimate  conjunction.  This  union 
of  the  mental  and  moral  into  a  life  of  admirable  simplicity' 
is  what  we  most  admire  in  children ;  but  in  them  it  is. 
unsettled  and  unpractical.  But  when  it  is  preserved 
into  a  manhood,  deepened  into  reliability  and  maturity, 
it  is  that  glorified  childlikeness,  that  high  and  reverend 
simplicity,  which  shames  and  baffles  the  most  accom- 
plished astuteness,  and  is  chosen  by  God  to  fill  His  pur- 
poses when  He  needs  a  ruler  for  His  people,  of  faithful 
and  true  heart,  such  as  he  had,  who  was  our  President. 

Another  evident  quality  of  such  a  character  as  this,  will 
be  its  freshness  or  newness,  so  to  speak.  Its  freshness  or 
readiness  —  call  it  what  you  will  —  its  abihty  to  take  up 
new  duties  and  do  them  in  a  new  way  will  result  of  neces- 
sity from  its  truth  and  clearness.  The  simple  natures 
and  forces  will  always  be  the  most  phant  ones.  Water 
bends  and  shapes  itself  to  any  channel.  Air  folds  and 
adapts  itself  to  each  new  figure.  They  are  the  simplest 
and  the  most  infinitely  active  things  in  nature.  So  this 
nature,  in  very  virtue  of  its  simplicity,  must  be  also 
free,  always  fitting  itself  to  each  new  need.  It  will 
always  start  from  the  most  fundamental  and  eternal 
conditions,  and  work  in  the  straightest,  even  although 
they  be  the  newest  ways,  to  the  present  prescribed  pur- 
pose. In  one  word,  it  must  be  broad  and  independent 
and  radical.  So  that  freedom  and  radicalness  in  the 
character  of  Abraham  Lincoln  were  not  separate  qualities, 
but  the  necessary  results  of  his  simplicity  and  childlike- 
ness and  truth. 

Here  then  we  have  some  conception  of  the  man.  Out 
of  this  character  came  the  life  which  we  admire  and  the 


54  The  American  Spirit 

death  which  we  lament  today.  He  was  called  in  that 
character  to  that  life  and  death.  It  was  just  the  nature, 
as  you  see,  which  a  new  nation  such  as  ours  ought  to 
produce.  All  the  conditions  of  his  birth,  his  youth,  his 
manhood,  which  made  him  what  he  was,  were  not  irregular 
and  exceptional,  but  were  the  normal  conditions  of  a  new 
and  simple  country.  His  pioneer  home  in  Indiana  was  a 
type  of  the  pioneer  land  in  which  he  Uved.  If  ever  there 
was  a  man  who  was  a  part  of  the  time  and  country  he 
lived  in,  this  was  he.  The  same  simple  respect  for 
labor  won  in  the  school  of  work  and  incorporated  into 
blood  and  muscle ;  the  same  unassuming  loyalty  to  the 
simple  virtues  of  temperance  and  industry  and  integrity ; 
the  same  sagacious  judgment  which  had  learned  to  be 
quick-eyed  and  quick-brained  in  the  constant  presence 
of  emergency ;  the  same  direct  and  clear  thought  about 
things,  social,  political,  and  religious,  that  was  in  him 
supremely,  was  in  the  people  he  was  sent  to  rule. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  i 
Robert  G.  Ingersoll  (1833-1899) 

Lincoln  was  not  a  type.  He  stands  alone  —  no  an- 
cestors, no  fellows,  and  no  successors. 

He  had  the  advantage  of  living  in  a  new  country,  of 
social  equality,  of  personal  freedom,  of  seeing  in  the 
horizon  of  his  future  the  perpetual  star  of  hope. 


^  The  oration  on  Lincoln,  of  which  this  selection  forms  a  part,  was 
one  of  the  most  famous  of  Ingersoll's  lectures,  and  was  perhaps 
oftener  called  for  than  any  other. 

From  Works  of  Robert  G.  Ingersoll  (Dresden  Edition).  Copy- 
right, 1901,  1915,  by  The  Dresden  Publishing  Company,  New 
York.     Used  by  permission  of  the  pubhshers. 


Two  Great  Americans  55 

In  a  new  country,  a  man  must  possess  at  least  three 
virtues  —  honesty,  courage,  and  generosity. 

In  a  new  country,  character  is  essential;  in  the  old, 
reputation  is  sufficient.  In  the  new,  they  find  what  a 
man  really  is ;  in  the  old,  he  generally  passes  for  what 
he  resembles. 

Lincoln  never  finished  his  education.  To  the  night  of 
his  death  he  was  a  pupil,  a  learner,  an  inquirer,  a  seeker 
after  knowledge. 

Lincoln  was  a  many-sided  man,  acquainted  with  smiles 
and  tears,  complex  in  brain,  single  in  heart.  He  was 
never  afraid  to  ask  —  never  too  dignified  to  admit  that 
he  did  not  know.  No  man  had  keener  wit  or  kinder 
humor. 

He  had  intellect  without  arrogance,  genius  without 
pride,  and  religion  without  cant  —  that  is  to  say,  with- 
out bigotry  and  without  deceit. 

He  was  an  orator  —  clear,   sincere,  natural. 

If  you  wish  to  know  the  difference  between  an  orator 
and  an  elocutionist  —  between  what  is  felt  and  what  is 
said  —  between  what  the  heart  and  brain  can  do  to- 
gether and  what  the  brain  can  do  alone  —  read  Lincoln's 
wondrous  speech  at  Gettysburg,  and  then  the  oration  of 
Edward  Everett.  The  speech  of  Lincoln  will  never  be 
forgotten.  It  will  five  until  languages  are  dead  and  lips 
are  dust. 

Wealth  could  not  purchase,  power  could  not  awe,  this 
divine,  this  loving  man. 

He  knew  no  fear  except  the  fear  of  doing  wrong. 
Hating  slavery,  pitying  the  master  —  seeking  to  conquer, 
not  persons,  but  prejudices,  — he  was  the  embodiment  of 
the  self-denial,  the  courage,  the  hope,  and  the  nobility 
of  a  Nation. 


56  The  American  Spirit 

He  spoke,  not  to  inflame,  not  to  upbraid,  but  to 
convince. 

He  raised  his  hands,  not  to  strike,  but  in  benediction. 

He  longed  to  pardon. 

He  loved  to  see  the  pearls  of  joy  on  the  cheeks  of 
a  wife  whose  husband  he  had  rescued  from  death. 

Lincoln  was  the  grandest  figure  of  the  fiercest  civil 
war.     He  is  the  gentlest  memory  of  our  world. 


LINCOLN'S  BIRTHPLACE! 

WooDROw  Wilson  (1856-        ) 

How  eloquent  this  little  house  within  this  shrine  is  of 
the  vigor  of  democracy !  There  is  nowhere  in  the  land 
any  home  so  remote,  so  humble,  that  it  may  not  contain 
the  power  of  mind  and  heart  and  conscience  to  which 
nations  yield  and  history  submits  its  processes.  Nature 
pays  no  tribute  to  aristocracy,  subscribes  to  no  creed  of 
caste,  renders  fealty  to  no  monarch  or  master  of  any  name 
or  kind.  Genius  is  no  snob.  It  does  not  run  after  titles 
or  seek  by  preference  the  high  circles  of  society.  It  affects 
humble  company  as  well  as  great.  It  pays  no  special 
tribute  to  universities  or  learned  societies  or  conventional 
standards  of  greatness,  but  serenely  chooses  its  own  com- 
rades, its  own  haunts,  its  own  cradle  even,  and  its  own 
life  of  adventure  and  of  training.  Here  is  proof  of  it. 
This  little  hut  was  the  cradle  of  one  of  the  great  sons  of 
men,   a  man  of  singular,   delightful,   vital  genius  who 

1  From  an  address  delivered  on  the  occasion  of  the  acceptance  by 
the  War  Department  of  the  gift  to  the  nation  of  the  Lincoln  birth- 
place farm  at  Hodgenville,  Kentucky,  September,  4,  1916.  In 
official  pamphlet  printed  by  the  Government  Printing  Office,  1916. 


Two  Great  Americans  57 

presently  emerged  upon  the  great  stage  of  the  nation's 
history,  gaunt,  shy,  ungainly,  but  dominant  and  majestic, 
a  natural  ruler  of  men,  himself  inevitably  the  central  figure 
of  the  great  plot.  No  man  can  explain  this,  but  every 
man  can  see  how  it  demonstrates  the  vigor  of  democracy, 
where  every  door  is  open,  in  every  hamlet  and  country- 
side, in  city  and  wilderness  aUke,  for  the  ruler  to  emerge 
when  he  will  and  claim  his  leadership  in  the  free  fife.  Such 
are  the  authentic  proofs  of  the  validity  and  vitality  of 
democracy. 

Here,  no  less,  hides  the  mystery  of  democracy.  Who 
shall  guess  this  secret  of  nature  and  providence  and  a  free 
polity?  Whatever  the  vigor  and  vitality  of  the  stock 
from  which  he  sprang,  its  mere  vigor  and  soundness  do  not 
explain  where  this  man  got  his  great  heart  that  seemed  to 
comprehend  all  mankind  in  its  catholic  and  benignant  sym- 
pathy, the  mind  that  sat  enthroned  behind  those  brooding, 
melancholy  eyes,  whose  vision  swept  many  an  horizon 
which  those  about  him  dreamed  not  of,  —  that  mind  that 
comprehended  what  it  had  never  seen,  and  understood 
the  language  of  affairs  with  the  ready  ease  of  one  to  the 
manner  born,  —  or  that  nature  which  seemed  in  its  varied 
richness  to  be  the  familiar  of  men  of  every  way  of  life. 
This  is  the  sacred  mystery  of  democracy ;  that  its  richest 
fruits  spring  up  out  of  soils  which  no  man  has  prepared 
and  in  circumstances  amidst  which  they  are  the  least 
expected.  This  is  a  place  afike  of  mystery  and  of 
reassurance. 


58  The  American  Spirit 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  ^ 

Tom  Taylor  (1817-1880) 

You  lay  a  wreath  on  murdered  Lincoln's  bier, 
You,  who  with  mocking  pencil  wont  to  trace 

Broad  for  the  self-complacent  British  sneer 

His  length  of  shambling  limb,  his  furrowed  face, 

His  gaunt,  gnarled  hguids,  his  unkempt,  bristhng  hair, 
His  garb  uncouth,  his  bearing  ill  at  ease ; 

His  lack  of  all  we  prize  as  debonair, 

Of  power  or  will  to  shine,  of  art  to  please. 

You,  whose  smart  pen  backed  up  the  pencil's  laugh, 
Judging  each  step,  as  though  the  way  were  plain; 

Reckless,  so  it  could  point  its  paragraph 
Of  chief's  perplexity,  or  people's  pain. 

Beside  this  corpse,  that  bears  for  winding-sheet 
The  Stars  and  Stripes  he  lived  to  rear  anew. 

Between  the  mourners  at  his  head  and  feet. 
Say,  scurril  jester,  is  there  room  for  yon  ? 


Tom  Taylor,  an  English  critic  and  dramatist,  was  a  frequent  con- 
tributor, during  the  war  of  secession,  to  London  Punch,  of  which 
he  later  became  editor.  He  was  the  author  of  "Our  American 
Cousin,"  in  which  the  elder  Sothern  made  his  mark  as  Lord  Dun- 
dreary, the  comic  Englishman.  This  was  the  play  on  the  stage 
at  Ford's  Theatre  when  Lincoln  was  assassinated.  In  the  early 
years  of  the  war  Taylor  had  often  ridiculed  Lincoln  in  the  London 
weekly,  but  expressed  his  change  of  feeling  in  this  poem,  which 
accompanied  a  picture  by  John  Tenniel,  representing  Britannia 
laying  a  wreath  upon  the  bier  of  Lincoln. 

From  the  original  poem  in  London  Punch,  May  6,  1865. 


Two  Great  Americans  59 

Yes,  he  had  lived  to  shame  me  from  my  sneer, 

To  lame  my  pencil,  and  confute  my  pen  —  ] 

To  make  me  own  this  hind  of  princes  peer,  ^ 

This  rail-splitter  a  true-born  king  of  men. 

My  shallow  judgment  I  had  learnt  to  rue,  ■] 

Noting  how  to  occasion's  height  he  rose,  i 

How  his  quaint  wit  made  home- truth  seem  more  true,  j 

How,  iron-like,  his  temper  grew  by  blows.  , 

How  humble  yet  how  hopeful  he  could  be :  ] 

How  in  good  fortune  and  in  ill  the  same : 

Nor  bitter  in  success,  nor  boastful  he,  : 

Thirsty  for  gold,  nor  feverish  for  fame.  i 

He  went  about  his  work  —  such  work  as  few  ] 

Ever  had  laid  on  head  and  heart  and  hand  —                 .  i 

As  one  who  knows,  where  there's  a  task  to  do,  | 

Man's  honest  will  must  Heaven's  good  grace  command ;  ■ 

Who  trusts  the  strength  will  with  the  burden  grow,  i 
That  God  makes  instruments  to  work  His  will,                                '    ' 

If  but  that  will  we  can  arrive  to  know,  \ 

Not  tamper  with  the  weights  of  good  and  ill.  t 


So  he  went  forth  to  battle,  on  the  side 

That  he  felt  clear  was  Liberty's  and  Right's, 

As  in  his  peasant  boyhood  he  had  plied 

His  warfare  with  rude  Nature's  thwarting  mights 

The  uncleared  forest,  the  unbroken  soil, 

The  iron  bark,  that  turns  the  lumberer's  ax ; 

The  rapid,  that  o'erbears  the  boatman's  toil. 

The  prairie,  hiding  the  mazed  wanderer's  tracks, 


60  The  American  Spirit 

The  ambushed  Indian,  and  the  prowling  bear  — 
Such  were  the  needs  that  helped  his  youth  to  train : 

Rough  culture  —  but  such  trees  large  fruit  may  bear 
If  but  their  stocks  be  of  right  girth  and  grain. 

So  he  grew  up,  a  destined  work  to  do. 

And  lived  to  do  it :  four  long-suffering  years' 

lU-fate,  ill-feeling,  ill-report,  lived  through. 
And  then  he  heard  the  hisses  change  to  cheers, 

The  taunts  to  tribute,  the  abuse  to  praise, 

And  took  both  with  the  same  unwavering  mood : 

Till,  as  he  came  on  light,  from  darkling  days 

And  seemed  to  touch  the  goal  from  where  he  stood, 

A  felon  hand,  between  the  goal  and  him. 

Reached  from  behind  his  back,  a  trigger  prest  — 

And  those  perplexed  and  patient  eyes  were  dim. 
Those  gaimt,  long-laboring  limbs  were  laid  to  rest  I 

The  words  of  mercy  were  upon  his  lips, 
Forgiveness  in  his  heart  and  on  his  pen. 

When  this  vile  murderer  brought  swift  eclipse 
To  thoughts  of  peace  on  earth,  good-will  to  men. 

The  Old  World  and  the  New,  from  sea  to  sea, 
Utter  one  voice  of  sympathy  and  shame ! 

Sore  heart,  so  stopped  when  it  at  last  beat  high, 
Sad  life,  cut  short  just  as  its  triumph  came. 

A  deed  accurst !     Strokes  have  been  struck  before 
By  the  assassin's  hand,  whereof  men  doubt 

If  more  of  horror  or  disgrace  they  bore ; 

But  thy  foul  crime,  like  Cain's,  stands  darkly  out. 


Two  Great  Americans  61 

Vile  hand,  that  brandest  murder  on  a  strife, 

Whate'er  its  grounds,  stoutly  and  nobly  striven ; 

And  with  the  martyr's  crown  crownest  a  life 
With  much  to  praise,  little  to  be  forgiven  I 

O  CAPTAIN  I    MY  CAPTAIN  I  ^ 

Walt  Whitman  (1819-1892) 

O  Captain  I  my  Captain  I  our  fearful  trip  is  done. 

The  ship  has  weathered  every  rack,  the  prize  we  sought 

is  won. 
The  port  is  near,  the  bells  I  hear,  the  people  all  exulting, 
While  follow  eyes  the  steady  keel,  the  vessel  grim  and 

daring ; 

But  0  heart !  heart  I  heart  I 

0  the  bleeding  drops  of  red. 
Where  on  the  deck  my  captain  lies. 

Fallen  cold  and  dead. 

0  Captain  I  my  Captain !  rise  up  and  hear  the  bells ; 
Rise  up  —  for  you  the  flag  is  flung  —  for  you  the  bugle 

trills, 
For  you  bouquets  and  ribboned  wreaths  —  for  you  the 

shores  a-crowding, 
For  you  they  caU,  the  swaying  mass,  their  eager  faces 

turning ; 

Here  Captain  I  dear  father  I 

This  arm  beneath  your  head  I 
It  is  some  dream  that  on  the  deck 

You've  fallen  cold  and  dead. 

iFrom  "Leaves  of  Grass."     Copyright,  1900,  by  David  McKay, 
Philadelphia.     Used  by  permission  of  the  publisher. 


62  The  American  Spirit 

My  Captain  does  not  answer,  his  lips  are  pale  and  still, 
My  father  does  not  feel  my  arm,  he  has  no  pulse  nor  will. 
The  ship  is  anchored  safe  and  sound,  its  voyage  closed 

and  done, 
From  fearful  trip  the  victor  ship  comes  in  with  object  won ; 

Exult,  0  shores,  and  ring,  0  bells  I 

But  I  with  mournful  tread 
Walk  the  deck  my  Captain  lies, 

Fallen  cold  and  dead. 


THE  GETTYSBURG  ADDRESS  ^ 
Abraham  Lincoln  (1809-1865) 

Fourscore  and  seven  years  ago,  our  fathers  brought 
forth  on  this  continent  a  new  nation,  conceived  in  liberty, 
and  dedicated  to  the  proposition  that  aU  men  are  created 
equal. 

Now  we  are  engaged  in  a  great  civil  war,  testing  whether 
that  nation,  or  any  nation  so  conceived  and  so  dedicated, 
can  long  endure.  We  are  met  on  a  great  battlefield  of 
that  war.  We  have  come  to  dedicate  a  portion  of  that 
field  as  a  final  resting  place  for  those  who  here  gave  their 
lives  that  that  nation  might  live.  It  is  altogether  fitting 
and  proper  that  we  should  do  this. 

But,  in  a  larger  sense,  we  cannot  dedicate  —  we  can- 
not consecrate  —  we  cannot  hallow  —  this  ground.  The 
brave  men,  living  and  dead,  who  struggled  here,  have 
consecrated  it,  far  above  our  poor  power  to  add  or  de- 

•^From  facsimile  reproduction  of  President  Lincoln's  speech,  to 
be  found  in  Nicolay  and  Hay's  "Abraham  Lincoln,"  Hapgood's 
"Abraham  Lincoln,"  and  other  histories  and  biographies. 


Two  Great  Americans  63 

tract.  The  world  will  little  note,  nor  long  remember, 
what  we  say  here,  but  it  can  never  forget  what  they  did 
here.  It  is  for  us,  the  living,  rather  to  be  dedicated  here 
to  the  unfinished  work  which  they  who  fought  here  have 
thus  far  so  nobly  advanced.  It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here 
dedicated  to  the  great  task  remaining  before  us  —  that 
from  these  honored  dead  we  take  increased  devotion  to 
that  cause  for  which  they  gave  the  last  full  measure  of 
devotion  —  that  we  here  highly  resolve  that  these  dead 
shall  not  have  died  in  vain  —  that  this  nation,  under 
God,  shall  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom  —  and  that  gov- 
ernment of  the  people,  by  the  people,  for  the  people,  shall 
not  perish  from  the  earth. 


III.   CHARACTERISTIC   IDEALS 
(1)   The  Faith  of  the  Fathers 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  AMERICA  ^ 
Benjamin  Franklin  (1706-1790) 

Many  persons  in  Europe  having  directly,  or  by  letters, 
expressed  to  the  writer  of  this,  who  is  well  acquainted 
with  North  America,  their  desire  of  transporting  and  es- 
tablishing themselves  in  that  country ;  but  who  appear  to 
him  to  have  formed  through  ignorance,  mistaken  ideas  and 
expectations  of  what  is  to  be  obtained  there ;  he  thinks 
it  may  be  useful,  and  prevent  inconvenient,  expensive 
and  fruitless  removals  and  voyages  of  improper  persons, 
if  he  gives  some  clearer  and  truer  notions  of  that  part  of 
the  world  than  appear  to  have  hitherto  prevailed.  .  .  . 

The  truth  is,  that  though  there  are  in  that  country  few 
people  so  miserable  as  the  poor  of  Europe,  there  are  also 
very  few  that  in  Europe  would  be  called  rich  ;  it  is  rather 
a  general  happy  mediocrity  that  prevails.  There  are  few 
great  proprietors  of  the  soil,  and  few  tenants;  most 
people  cultivate  their  own  lands,  or  follow  some  handi- 
craft or  merchandise ;  very  few  rich  enough  to  live  idly 
upon  their  rents  or  incomes  or  to  pay  the  high  prices 
given  in  Europe  for  paintings,  statues,  architecture,  and 
the  other  works   of   art,   that  are   more  curious  than 

^  Franklin  was  undoubtedly  the  fullest  colonial  expression  of  the 
American  spirit,  and  so  impressed  Europe  as  well  as  his  fellow 
countrymen. 

From  "Information  to  those  who  would  remove  to  America," 
in  Works  of  Benjamin  FrankUn,  Vol.  III.  Published  by  Long- 
man, Hurst,  Reese  &  Orme,  London,  1806. 

65 


66  The  American  Spirit 

useful.  Hence  the  natural  geniuses,  that  have  arisen  in 
America  with  such  talents,  have  uniformly  quitted  that 
country  for  Europe,  where  they  can  be  more  suitably  re- 
warded. It  is  true,  that  letters  and  mathematical  knowl- 
edge are  in  esteem  there,  but  they  are  at  the  same  time 
more  common  than  is  apprehended ;  there  being  already 
existing  nine  colleges  or  universities,  viz.,  four  in  New 
England,  and  one  in  each  of  the  provinces  of  New  York, 
New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia,  all 
furnished  with  learned  professors ;  besides  a  number 
of  smaller  academies.  These  educate  many  of  their 
youth  in  the  languages,  and  those  sciences  that  qualify 
men  for  the  professions  of  divinity,  law,  or  physic. 
Strangers  indeed  are  by  no  means  excluded  from  exercising 
those  professions ;  and  the  quick  increase  of  inhabitants 
everywhere  gives  them  a  chance  of  employ,  which  they 
have  in  common  with  the  natives.  Of  civil  offices,  or 
employments,  there  are  few ;  no  superfluous  ones,  as  in 
Europe ;  and  it  is  a  rule  established  in  some  of  the  states, 
that  no  office  should  be  so  profitable  as  to  make  it  desir- 
able. .  .  . 

These  ideas  prevailing  more  or  less  in  all  the  United 
States,  it  cannot  be  worth  any  man's  while,  who  has  a 
means  of  living  at  home,  to  expatriate  himself,  in  hopes  of 
obtaining  a  profitable  civil  office  in  America;  and  as  to 
military  offices,  they  are  at  an  end  with  the  war,  the 
armies  being  disbanded.  Much  less  is  it  advisable  for  a 
person  to  go  thither  who  has  no  other  quality  to  rec- 
ommend him  but  his  birth.  In  Europe  it  has  indeed 
its  value ;  but  it  is  a  commodity  that  cannot  be  carried 
to  a  worse  market  than  that  of  America,  where  people 
do  not  inquire  concerning  a  stranger.  What  is  he,  but. 
What  can  he  do  ? 


Characteristic  Ideals  67 

PITT'S  LAST  SPEECH! 

William  Pitt,  Earl  of  Chatham  (1708-1778) 

I  love  and  honor  the  English  troops.  I  know  their 
virtues  and  their  valor.  I  know  they  can  achieve  anything 
except  impossibihties ;  and  I  know  that  the  conquest  of 
English  America  is  an  impossibility.  You  cannot,  I 
venture  to  say  it,  you  cannot  conquer  America.  Your 
armies  [in  the]  last  war  effected  everything  that  could  be 
effected ;  and  what  was  it  ?  It  cost  your  numerous  army, 
under  the  command  of  a  most  able  genergJ,  now  a  noble 
Lord  in  this  House  ^,  a  long  and  laborious  campaign  to 
expel  five  thousand  Frenchmen  from  French  America.^ 
My  Lords,  you  cannot  conquer  America.  What  is  your 
present  situation  there?  We  do  not  know  the  worst; 
but  we  know  that  in  three  campaigns  we  have  done  noth- 
ing and  suffered  much.  ...  As  to  conquest,  therefore, 
my  Lords,  I  repeat,  it  is  impossible.  You  may  swell  every 
expense  and  every  effort  still  more  extravagantly;    pile 

^  Unfortunately  it  is  too  little  recognized  by  Americans  that  at 
the  time  of  the  American  Revolution  there  was  going  on  in  Eng- 
land as  well  as  in  the  American  colonies  a  great  social  movement 
for  political  liberalism  and  freedom.  These  two,  indeed,  were  but 
parts  of  the  same  great  movement.  The  one  in  England  did  not 
triumph  during  that  period,  though  it  did  in  the  following  gen- 
eration. The  English  leaders  of  this  movement  were  friends  of 
America,  none  more  able  or  respected  than  Pitt.  They  as  well 
as  the  natives  of  the  colonies  revealed  the  dawning  political 
spirit  of  America.  The  principles  for  which  these  leaders  fought 
on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  were  diu-ing  the  nineteenth  century 
applied  to  all  English-speaking  colonies. 

From  "Lord  Chatham's  Speech  in  the  British  House  of  Lords. 
November  20,  1777.  Taken  verbatim  as  his  Lordship  spoke  it." 
Printed  1778. 

'  Lord  Amherst. 

'  A  reference  to  the  French  and  Indian  wars  which  terminated  in 
1763. 


68  The  American  Spirit 

and  accumulate  every  assistance  you  can  buy  or  bor- 
row ;  traffic  and  barter  with  every  little  pitiful  German 
prince^  that  sells  his  subjects  to  the  shambles  of  a 
foreign  prince ;  your  efforts  are  forever  vain  and  im- 
potent —  doubly  so  from  this  mercenary  aid  on  which 
you  rely;  for  it  irritates,  to  an  incurable  resentment, 
the  minds  of  your  enemies,  to  overrun  them  with  the 
mercenary  sons  of  rapine  and  plunder,  devoting  them  and 
their  possessions  to  the  rapacity  of  hireling  cruelty  I  If 
I  were  an  American,  as  I  am  an  Englishman,  while  a 
foreign  troop  was  landed  in  my  country,  I  never  would 
lay  down  my  arms  —  never,  never,  never  I 


WHAT  IS  PATRIOTISM?  2 
Fisher  Ames  (1758-1808) 

What  is  patriotism?  Is  it  a  narrow  affection  for  the 
spot  where  a  man  was  born  ?  Are  the  very  clods  where  we 
tread  entitled  to  this  ardent  preference  because  they  are 
greener  ?  No,  sir,  this  is  not  the  character  of  the  virtue, 
and  it  soars  higher  for  its  object.  It  is  an  extended 
self-love,  minghng  with  all  the  enjoyments  of  hfe,  and 
twisting  itself  with  the  minutest  filaments  of  the  heart. 
It  is  thus  we  obey  the  laws  of  society,  because  they  are  the 
laws  of  virtue.  In  their  authority  we  see,  not  the  array 
of  force  and  terror,  but  the  venerable  image  of  our  coun- 
try's honor.     Every  good  citizen  makes  that  honor  his 

1  A  reference  to  the  Hessian  and  other  mercenary  troops  hired 
by  King  George  from  the  monarchs  of  petty  German  states,  to 
help  subdue  the  American  colonists. 

2  From  a  speech  delivered  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
April  28,  1796.  Printed  by  John  Fenno,  Philadelphia,  1796,  and 
by  Jno.  &  J.  Russell,  Boston,  1796. 


Characteristic  Ideals  69 

own,  and  cherishes  it  not  only  as  precious,  but  as  sacred. 
He  is  willing  to  risk  his  life  in  its  defense,  and  is  conscious 
that  he  gains  protection  while  he  gives  it.  For  what 
rights  of  a  citizen  will  be  deemed  inviolable  when  a  state 
renounces  the  principles  that  constitute  their  security? 
Or,  if  his  life  should  not  be  invaded,  what  would  its  enjoy- 
ments be  in  a  country  odious  in  the  -eyes  of  strangers  and 
dishonored  in  his  own  ?  Could  he  look  with  affection  and 
veneration  to  such  a  country  as  his  parent  ?  The  sense  of 
having  one  would  die  within  him,  he  would  blush  for  his 
patriotism,  if  he  retained  any,  and  justly,  for  it  would  be 
a  vice.  He  would  be  a  banished  man  in  his  native  land. 
I  see  no  exception  to  the  respect  that  is  paid  among 
nations  to  the  law  of  good  faith.  If  there  are  cases  in 
this  enlightened  period  when  it  is  violated,  there  are  none 
when  it  is  decried.  It  is  the  philosophy  of  politics,  the 
reUgion  of  governments.  It  is  observed  by  barbarians  — 
a  whiff  of  tobacco  smoke  or  a  string  of  beads  gives  not 
merely  binding  force,  but  sanctity,  to  treaties.  Even  in 
Algiers,  a  truce  may  be  bought  for  money,  but  when 
ratified,  even  Algiers  is  too  wise,  or  too  just,  to  disown 
and  annul  its  obligation.  Thus  we  see  neither  the  ig- 
norance of  savages,  nor  the  principles  of  an  association 
for  piracy  and  rapine,  permit  a  nation  to  despise  its 
engagements.  If,  sir,  there  could  be  a  resurrection  from 
the  foot  of  the  gallows,  if  the  victims  of  justice  could  live 
again,  collect  together  and  form  a  society,  they  would, 
however  loath,  soon  find  themselves  obliged  to  make 
justice,  that  justice  under  which  they  fell,  the  funda- 
mental law  of  their  state.  They  would  perceive  it  was 
their  interest  to  make  others  respect,  and  they  would, 
therefore,  soon  pay  some  respect  themselves,  to  the 
obUgations  of  good  faith. 


70  The  American  Spirit     * 

LIBERTY  OR  DEATHS 
Patrick  Henry  (1736-1799) 

Mr.  President,  it  is  natural  to  man  to  indulge  in  the 
illusions  of  Hope.  We  are  apt  to  shut  our  eyes  against  a 
painful  truth,  and  listen  to  the  song  of  that  siren,  till  she 
transforms  us  into  beasts.  Is  this  the  part  of  wise  men, 
engaged  in  a  great  and  arduous  struggle  for  liberty  ?  Are 
we  disposed  to  be  of  the  number  of  those,  who,  having 
eyes,  see  not,  and  having  ears,  hear  not,  the  things  which 
so  nearly  concern  their  temporal  salvation?  For  my 
part,  whatever  anguish  of  spirit  it  may  cost,  I  am  willing 
to  know  the  whole  truth;  to  know  the  worst  and  to 
provide  for  it. 

I  have  but  one  lamp  by  which  my  feet  are  guided ;  and 
that  is  the  lamp  of  experience.  I  know  of  no  way  of 
judging  the  future  but  by  the  past.  .  .  . 

Sir,  we  have  done  everything  that  could  be  done,  to 
avert  the  storm  which  is  now  coming  on.  We  have 
petitioned  ;  we  have  remonstrated  ;  we  have  supplicated  ; 
we  have  prostrated  ourselves  before  the  throne,  and  have 
implored  its  interposition  to  arrest  the  tyrannical  hands 
of  the  Ministry  and  Parliament.  Our  petitions  have  been 
slighted;  our  remonstrances  have  produced  additional 
violence  and  insult;  our  supplications  have  been  dis- 
regarded; and  we  have  been  spurned,  with  contempt, 
from  the  foot  of  the  throne.     In  vain,  after  these  things, 

^  No  selection  is  more  often  quoted  than  this  as  an  expression  of 
the  spirit  of  the  American  Revolution. 

From  Henry's  speech  dehvered  in  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses 
at  Richmond,  March  23,  1775.  Pubhshed  in  "Patrick  Henry's 
Life,  Correspondence,  and  Speeches."  Collected  and  edited  by 
WiUiam  Henry  Wirt.     Vol.  I. 


Characteristic  Ideals  71 

may  we  indulge  the  fond  hope  of  peace  and  reconciliation. 
There  is  no  longer  any  room  for  hope.  If  we  wish  to  be 
free ;  if  we  mean  to  preserve  inviolate  those  inestimable 
privileges  for  which  we  have  been  so  long  contending; 
if  we  mean  not  basely  to  abandon  the  noble  struggle  in 
which  we  have  been  so  long  engaged,  and  which  we  have 
pledged  ourselves  never  to  abandon,  until  the  glorious 
object  of  our  contest  shall  be  obtained  ;  we  must  fight !  I 
repeat  it,  sir,  we  must  fight !  An  appeal  to  arms  and  to 
the  God  of  Hosts  is  all  that  is  left  us. 

They  tell  us,  sir,  that  we  are  weak;  unable  to  cope 
with  so  formidable  an  adversary.  But  when  shall  we  be 
stronger?  Will  it  be  the  next  week  or  the  next  year? 
Will  it  be  when  we  are  totally  disarmed,  and  when  a 
British  guard  shall  be  stationed  in  every  house?  Shall 
we  gather  strength  by  irresolution  and  inaction?  Shall 
we  acquire  the  means  of  effectual  resistance  by  lying 
supinely  on  our  backs,  and  hugging  the  delusive  phantom 
of  hope,  until  our  enemies  shall  have  bound  us  hand  and 
foot  ?  Sir,  we  are  not  weak,  if  we  make  a  proper  use  of  the 
means  which  the  God  of  nature  hath  placed  in  our  power. 
Three  millions  of  people,  armed  in  the  holy  cause  of  Hberty, 
and  in  such  a  country  as  that  which  we  possess,  are  in- 
vincible by  any  force  which  our  enemy  can  send  against 
us.  Besides,  sir,  we  shall  not  fight  our  battles  alone. 
There  is  a  just  God  who  presides  over  the  destinies  of 
nations,  and  who  will  raise  up  friends  to  fight  our  battles 
for  us.  The  battle,  sir,  is  not  to  the  strong  alone ;  it  is 
to  the  vigilant,  the  active,  the  brave.  Besides,  sir,  we 
have  no  election.  If  we  were  base  enough  to  desire  it, 
it  is  now  too  late  to  retire  from  the  contest.  There  is 
no  retreat  but  in  submission  and  slavery.  Our  chains 
are  forged.     Their  clanking  may  be  heard  on  the  plains 


72  The  American  Spirit 

of  Boston.     The  war  is  inevitable ;  and  let  it  come  I     I 
repeat,  sir,  let  it  come  I 

It  is  in  vain,  sir,  to  extenuate  the  matter.  Gentlemen 
may  cry,  Peace,  peace ;  but  there  is  no  peace.  The 
W£ir  is  actually  begun.  The  next  gale  that  sweeps  from 
the  North  will  bring  to  our  ears  the  clash  of  resound- 
ing arms.  Our  brethren  are  already  in  the  field.  Why 
stand  we  here  idle?  What  is  it  that  gentlemen  wish.^ 
What  would  they  have  ?  Is  life  so  deEU",  or  peace  so  sweet, 
as  to  be  purchased  at  the  price  of  chains  and  slavery? 
Forbid  it.  Almighty  God !  I  know  not  what  course  others 
may  take ;  but,  as  for  me,  give  me  Uberty,  or  give  me 
death  I 


GOVERNMENT  IN  THE  INTEREST  OF  ALL 

Declaration  of  Independence 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident :  —  that  all  men 
are  created  equal ;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator 
with  certain  unaUenable  rights  ;  that  among  these  are  life, 
liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness;  that,  to  secure 
these  rights,  governments  are  instituted  among  men,  de- 
riving their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  gov- 
erned ;  that,  whenever  any  form  of  government  becomes 
destructive  of  these  ends,  it  is  the  right  of  the  people  to- 
alter  or  to  abolish  it,  and  to  institute  a  new  govern- 
ment, laying  its  foundation  on  such  principles,  and  or- 
ganizing its  powers  in  such  form,  as  to  them  shall  seem 
most  likely  to  effect  their  safety  and  happiness. 


Characteristic  Ideals  73 

FAITH  IN  OUR  GOVERNMENT  ^ 
Thomas  Jefferson  (1743-1826) 

If  there  be  any  among  us  who  would  wish  to  dissolve 
this  Union,  or  to  change  its  republican  form,  let  them 
stand  undisturbed  as  monuments  of  the  safety  with  which 
error  of  opinion  may  be  tolerated  where  reason  is  left 
free  to  combat  it.  I  know,  indeed,  that  some  honest  men 
fear  that  a  republican  government  cannot  be  strong; 
that  this  government  is  not  strong  enough.  But  would 
the  honest  patriot,  in  the  full  tide  of  successful  experiment, 
abandon  a  government  which  has  so  far  kept  us  free  and 
firm,  on  the  theoretic  and  visionary  fear  that  this  govern- 
ment, the  world's  best  hope,  may,  by  possibility,  want 
energy  to  preserve  itself;  I  trust  not.  I  beheve  this, 
on  the  contrary,  the  strongest  government  on  earth.  I 
believe  it  the  only  one  where  every  man,  at  the  call  of 
the  law,  would  fly  to  the  standard  of  the  law,  and  would 
meet  invasions  of  the  public  order  as  his  own  personal 
concern.  Sometimes  it  is  said  that  man  cannot  be  trusted 
with  the  government  of  himself.  Can  he,  then,  be 
trusted  with  the  government  of  others?  Or  have  we 
found  angels  in  the  form  of  kings  to  govern  him  ?  Let 
history  answer  this  question. 

Let  us,  then,  with  courage  and  confidence  pursue  our 
own  federal  and  republican  principles,  our  attachment 
to  union  and  representative  government.  Kindly 
separated  by  nature  and  a  wide  ocean  from  the  exter- 
minating havoc  of  one-quarter  of  the  globe;    too  high- 

^  From  "Speech  of  Thomas  JefTerson  at  his  installment,  March  4, 
1801,  at  the  City  of  Washington."  In  "Notes  on  the  State  of 
Virginia  by  Thomas  Jefferson"  (First  Hot-Pressed  Edition).  Pub- 
lished by  R.  T.  Rawle,  Philadelphia,  June,  1801. 


74  The  American  Spirit 

minded  to  endure  the  degradations  of  the  others ;  possess- 
ing a  chosen  country,  with  room  enough  for  our  de- 
scendants to  the  thousandth  and  thousandth  generation ; 
entertaining  a  due  sense  of  our  equal  right  to  the  use  of  our 
own  faculties,  to  the  acquisitions  of  our  own  industry, 
to  honor  and  confidence  from  our  fellow  citizens,  resulting 
not  from  birth,  but  from  our  actions  and  their  sense  of 
them ;  enhghtened  by  a  benign  religion,  professed,  indeed, 
and  practiced  in  various  forms,  yet  all  of  them  inculcating 
honesty,  truth,  temperance,  gratitude,  and  the  love  of 
man;  acknowledging  and  adoring  an  overruhng  Provi- 
dence, which  by  all  its  dispensations  proves  that  it  de- 
lights in  the  happiness  of  man  here  and  his  greater  happi- 
ness hereafter  —  with  all  these  blessings,  what  more  is 
necessary  to  make  us  a  happy  and  a  prosperous  people  ? 


THE  MONROE  DOCTRINE  ^ 

James  Monroe  (1758-1831) 

In  the  wars  of  the  European  powers  in  matters  relating 
to  themselves  we  have  never  taken  any  part,  nor  does  it 
comport  with  our  pohcy  so  to  do.  It  is  only  when  our 
rights  are  invaded  or  seriously  menaced  that  we  resent 
injuries  or  make  preparation  for  our  defense.  With  the 
movements  in  this  hemisphere  we  are  of  necessity  more 
immediately  connected,  and  by  causes  which  must  be 
obvious  to  all  enhghtened  and  impartial  observers.  The 
political  system  of  the  alhed  ^  powers  is  essentially  differ- 


1  From  President  Monroe's  message  of  December  2,  1823. 

2  The  Holy  Alliance  was  formed  in  1815  as  a  result  of  the  Congress 
of  Vienna  and  was  joined  then  or  afterwards  by  all  the  monarchical 
powers  of  Europe  except  England.     Its  aim  was  to  combat  tlie 


Characteristic  Ideals  75 

ent  in  this  respect  from  that  of  America.  This  difference 
proceeds  from  that  which  exists  in  their  respective  Govern- 
ments ;  and  to  the  defense  of  our  own,  which  has  been 
achieved  by  the  loss  of  so  much  blood  and  treasure,  and 
matured  by  the  wisdom  of  their  most  enlightened  citi- 
zens, and  under  which  we  have  enjoyed  unexampled  fe- 
licity, this  whole  nation  is  devoted.  We  owe  it,  therefore, 
to  candor  and  to  the  amicable  relations  existing  between 
the  United  States  and  those  powers  to  declare  that  we 
should  consider  any  attempt  on  their  part  to  extend  their 
system  to  any  portion  of  this  hemisphere  as  dangerous 
to  our  peace  and  safety.  With  the  existing  colonies  or 
dependencies  of  any  European  power  we  have  not  inter- 
fered and  shall  not  interfere'.  But  with  the  Governments 
who  have  declared  their  independence  and  maintained 
it,  and  whose  independence  we  have  on  great  considera- 
tion and  on  just  principles,  acknowledged,  we  could  not 
view  any  interposition  for  the  purpose  of  oppressing  them, 
or  controlUng  in  any  other  manner  their  destiny,  by  any 
European  power,  in  any  other  light  than  as  the  manifesta- 
tion of  an  unfriendly  disposition  toward  the  United  States. 
In  the  war  between  those  new  Governments  and  Spain 
we  declared  our  neutrality  at  the  time  of  their  recogni- 
tion, and  to  this  we  have  adhered,  and  shall  continue  to 
adhere,  provided  no  change  shall  occur  which,  in  the  judg- 
ment of  the  competent  authorities  of  this  Government, 
shall  make  a  corresponding  change  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States  indispensable  to  their  security. 

The  late  events  in  Spain  and  Portugal  show  that  Europe 


growing  democratic  forces  in  all  countries  of  Europe,  and  later, 
when  President  Monroe's  message  was  issued,  to  assist  the  mon- 
archies of  Spain  and  Portugal  to  retain  control  over  their  American 
colonies  then  struggling  for  their  independence. 


76  The  American  Spirit 

is  still  unsettled.  Of  this  important  fact  no  stronger 
proof  can  be  adduced  than  that  the  allied  powers  should 
have  thought  it  proper,  on  any  principle  satisfactory  to 
themselves,  to  have  interposed  by  force  in  the  internal 
concerns  of  Spain.  To  what  extent  such  interposition  may 
be  carried,  on  the  same  principle,  is  a  question  in  which 
all  independent  powers  whose  governments  differ  from 
theirs  are  interested,  even  those  most  remote,  and  surely 
none  more  so  than  the  United  States.  Our  pohcy  in 
regard  to  Europe,  which  was  adopted  at  an  early  stage 
of  the  wars  which  have  so  long  agitated  that  quarter  of 
the  globe,  nevertheless  remains  the  same,  which  is,  not 
to  interfere  in  the  internal  concerns  of  any  of  its  powers ; 
to  consider  the  government'  de  facto  as  the  legitimate 
government  for  us;  to  cultivate  friendly  relations  with 
it,  and  to  preserve  those  relations  by  a  frank,  firm,  and 
manly  policy ,  meeting  in  all  instances  the  just  claims  of 
every  power,  submitting  to  injuries  from  none.  But  in 
regard  to  those  continents  circumstances  are  eminently 
and  conspicuously  different.  It  is  impossible  that  the 
allied  powers  should  extend  their  political  system  to  any 
portion  of  either  continent  without  endangering  our  peace 
and  happiness ;  nor  can  any  one  beUeve  that  our  southern 
brethren,  if  left  to  themselves,  would  adopt  it  of  their 
own  accord.  It  is  equally  impossible,  therefore,  that 
we  should  behold  such  interposition  in  any  form  with 
indifference.  If  we  look  to  the  comparative  strength 
and  resources  of  Spain  and  those  new  Governments,  and 
their  distance  from  each  other,  it  must  be  obvious  that 
she  can  never  subdue  them.  It  is  still  the  true  policy 
of  the  United  States  to  leave  the  parties  to  themselves, 
in  the  hope  that  other  powers  will  pursue  the  same 
course. 


Characteristic  Ideals  77 

LIBERTY  FOR  ALL  ^ 

William  Lloyd  Garrison  (1805-1879) 

They  tell  me,  Liberty  I  that  in  thy  name, 

I  may  not  plead  for  all  the  human  race ; 

That  some  are  born  to  bondage  and  disgrace, 

Some  to  a  heritage  of  woe  and  shame, 

And  some  to  power  supreme,  and  glorious  fame. 

With  my  whole  soul,  I  spurn  the  doctrine  base, 

And,  as  an  equal  brotherhood,  embrace 

All  people,  and  for  all  fair  freedom  claim  I 

Know  this,  0  man !  whatever  thy  earthly  fate  — 

God  never  made  a  tyrant  nor  a  slave : 

Woe,  then,  to  those  who  daie  to  desecrate 

His  glorious  image !  —  for  to  all  He  gave 

Eternal  rights,  which  none  may  violate ; 

And  by  a  mighty  hand,  th'  oppressed  He  yet  shall  save. 

1  "Sonnet  to  Liberty,"  in  "Selections  from  the  Writings  and 
Speeches  of  William  Lloyd  Garrison."  Published  by  R.  F.  Wall- 
cut,  Boston,  1852.  . 


78  The  American  Spirit 

(2)   Moral  Heroism 


GENERAL  GRANT'S  GREATEST  VICTORY » 
Elbridge  S.  Brooks  (1846-1902) 

General  Grant  .  .  .  deplored  and  detested  war ;  '  but 
once  engaged  in  it,  he  fought  to  ^sin.  ^ 

*'  Give  the  enemy  no  rest ;  [strike  him,  and  keep  striking 
him.     The  war  must  be  ended,  and  we  must  end  it  now." 

That  was  his  theory  of  war,  and  he  fought  straight 
on,  |never  halting  in  his  opinion,  never  wavering  in  his 
actions,  saying  to  those  who  questioned  him,  "I  shall 
fight  it  out  on  this  Une  if  it  takes  all  summer." 

Thereupon  the  people  and  the  President  knew  that  they 
had  a  soldier  to  rely  on,  a  man  with  a  genius  for  suc- 
cessful war,  a  general  who  never  took  one  backward  step. 
In  just  thirteen  months  after  Grant  assumed  his  com- 
mand as  head  of  the  American  army  the  end  came,  and 
in  the  apple  orchard  at  Appomattox  the  last  stand  was 
made, \  the  last  gun  was  fired,  the  white  flag  fluttered  for 
a  truce,  and  in  the  Uttle  McLean  farmhouse  the  two  great 
opposing  generals  met  in  conference,  and  the  Southern 
army  laid  down  its  arms  in  surrender. 

Then  General  Grant  won  a  greater  victory  through 
kindness.  For  where  he  might  have  been  harsh,  he  was 
magnanimous.  He  was  not  one  to  exult  over  a  valiant 
but  fallen  foeman. 

"They  are  Americans,  and  our  brothers,"  he  said.  He 
gave  them  back  their  horses,  so  that  they  could  plow  their 

1  From  "Historic  Americans."  Copyright,  1899,  by  Thomas  Y. 
Crowell  Company,  New  York.  Used  by  permission  of  the  pub- 
lishers. 


Characteristic  Ideals  79  ^ 

farms  for  planting;  He  gave  them  food  and  clothes,  and  i 

sent  them  all  home  to  their  families.     *'The  war  is  over,"  i  ' 

he  said  to  North  and  South  alike.     "Let  us  have  peace.**  > 

\ 
CUB  SAWBONES  1  j 

Sydney  Reid  (Robert  Charles  Forneri)  (1857-        ) 

When  we  marched  away  with  the  starry  flag, 

Cub  Sawbones  carried  his  surgeon's  bag ;  j 

But  for  me  —  I  wanted  no  "rear"  in  mine  —  \ 

I  shouldered  a  gun  in  the  fighting  line.  < 

So  when  we  had  charged  up  the  deadly  glade  j 

Where  the  dons  were  lying  in  ambuscade,  j 

I  was  there  to  take  what  the  others  got  —  j 

And  the  Spaniards  gave  it,  plenty  and  hot.  ; 

i 
There  fell  of  our  crowd  in  the  Mauser  hail  \ 

A  third  —  yet  never  a  man  did  quail. 

But  —  well,  we  went  back  —  then  came  again  *  .  ■ 

And  settled  right  down  to  our  work  like  men. 

In  open  order  and  firing  at  will,  - 

We  crawled  through  a  very  rough  skirmish  drill  —  ' 
From  the  trees  to  the  rocks,  from  the  rocks  to  the  trees, 

Just  as  close  to  the  ground  as  we  could  freeze.  i 

When  I  noted  a  tangled  thicket  sway  ' 

In  front  about  twenty-five  yards  away,  { 
I  halted,  made  ready  to  loosen  a  storm  — 

Till  I  caught  a  whiff  of  iodoform.  j 

^  From  the  New  York  Sun,  July  9,  1898.    Used  by  permission  of  the  J 

publishers.  1 


80  The  American  Spirit 

Cub  Sawbones,  alone  with  the  wounded  folk, 
Was  cobbling  the  limbs  that  the  bullets  broke ; 
He  bent  to  his  task  with  the  tenderest  care, 
Though  the  war-bolts  were  hissing  everywhere. 

I  hailed  him  with  our  old  college  yell,  — 

He  grinned,  as  he  watched  a  bursting  shell. 

*'You  have  a  great  nerve  to  be  here,"  he  said, 

*' When  you're  not  a  doctor  —  or  wounded  —  or  dead  I' 


THE  FLEET  AT  SANTIAGO  ^ 
Henry  Cabot  Lodge  (1850-        ) 

Out  of  the  mist  of  events  and  the  gathering  darkness  of 
passing  time  the  great  fact  and  the  great  deed  stand  forth 
for  the  American  people  and  their  children's  children,  as 
white  and  shining  as  the  Santiago  channel  glaring  under 
the  searchlights  through  the  Cuban  night. 

They  remember,  and  will  always  remember,  that  hot 
summer  morning,  and  the  anxiety,  only  half  whispered, 
which  overspread  the  land.  They  see,  and  will  always 
see,  the  American  ships  rolling  lazily  on  the  long  seas, 
and  the  sailors  just  going  to  Sunday  inspection.  Then 
comes  the  long,  thin  trail  of  smoke  drawing  nearer  the  har- 
bor's mouth.  The  ships  see  it,  and  we  can  hear  the  cheers 
ring  out,  for  the  enemy  is  coming,  and  the  American 
sailor  rejoices  mightily  to  know  that  the  battle  is  set. 
There  is  no  need  of  signals,  no  need  of  orders.  The  patient, 
long-watching  admiral  has  given  direction  for  every 
chance  that  may  befall.     Every  ship  is  in  place ;  and  they 

iFrom  "The  War  with  Spain."     Copyright,  1899,  by  Harper  & 
Brothers,  New  York.     Used  by  permission  of  the  publishers. 


Characteristic  Ideals  81 

close  in  upon  the  advancing  enemy,  fiercely  pouring  shells 
from  broadside  and  turret.  There  is  the  Gloucester,  firing 
her  Uttle  shots  at  the  great  cruisers,  and  then  driving 
down  to  grapple  with  the  torpedo  boats.  There  are  the 
Spanish  ships,  already  mortally  hurt,  running  along  the 
shore,  shattered  and  breaking  under  the  fire  of  the  Indiana, 
the  Iowa,  and  the  Texas;  there  is  the  Brooklyn,  racing  by 
outside  to  head  the  fugitives,  and  the  Oregon,  dealing 
death  strokes  as  she  rushes  forward,  forging  to  the  front 
and  leaving  her  mark  everywhere  she  goes.  It  is  a  cap- 
tain's fight,  and  they  all  fight  as  if  they  were  one  man  with 
one  ship.  On  they  go,  driving  through  the  water,  firing 
steadily  and  ever  getting  closer;  and  presently  the 
Spanish  cruisers,  helpless,  burning,  twisted  wrecks  of  iron, 
are  piled  along  the  shore,  and  we  see  the  younger  officers 
and  men  of  the  victorious  ships  periling  their  Uves  to  save 
their  beaten  enemies.  We  see  Wainwright  on  the  Glouces- 
ter, as  eager  in  rescue  as  he  was  swift  in  fight  to  avenge  the 
Maine.  We  hear  Phihp  cry  out:  "Don't  cheer.  The 
poor  devils  are  dying."  We  watch  Evans  as  he  hands 
back  the  sword  to  the  wounded  Eulate,  and  then  writes 
in  his  report:  "I  cannot  express  my  admiration  for  my 
magnificent  crew.  So  long  as  the  enemy  showed  his  flag, 
they  fought  like  American  seamen ;  but  when  the  flag 
came  down,  they  were  as  gentle  and  tender  as  American 
women."  They  aU  stand  out  to  us,  these  gaUant  figures, 
from  the  silent  admiral  to  the  cheering  seamen,  with  an 
intense  human  interest,  fearless  in  fight,  brave  and  merci- 
ful in  the  hour  of  victory. 


82  The  American  Spirit 

WHEELER  AT  SANTIAGO  i 
James  Lindsay  Gordon 

Into  the  thick  of  the  fight  he  went,  pallid  and  sick  and 

wan, 
Borne  to  the  front  in  an  ambulance,  a  ghostly  wisp  of  a 

man; 
But  the  fighting  soul  of  a  fighting  man,  approved  in  the 

long  ago. 
Went  to  the  front  in  that  ambulance  —  and  the  body  of 

Fighting  Joe ! 

Out  from  the  front  they  were  coming  back,  smitten  of 
Spanish  shells  — 

Wounded  boys  from  the  Vermont  hills  and  the  Alabama 
deUs. 

"Put  them  into  the  ambulance:  I'll  ride  to  the  front," 
he  said. 

And  he  climbed  to  the  saddle  and  rode  right  on,  that  Httle 
old  ex-Confed. 

From  end  to  end  of  the  long  blue  ranks  rose  up  the  ring- 
ing cheers. 

And  many  a  powder-blackened  face  was  furrowed  with 
sudden  tears, 

1  General  Joseph  Wheeler,  a  graduate  of  West  Point,  went  into 
the  Confederate  Cavalry  in  1861,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-six  was 
a  lieutenant  general.  After  the  war  his  native  state,  Alabama, 
sent  him  to  Congress,  where  he  served  for  thirty  years.  At  the 
outbreak  of  the  war  with  Spain,  in  1898,  although  sixty-two  years 
of  age,  he  was  commissioned  with  the  first  contingent  of  cavalry. 
Owing  to  the  nature  of  the  country  the  cavalry  went  into  battle 
dismounted,  and  Wheeler,  although  at  the  time  suffering  from  a 
sharp  attack  of  fever,  insisted  on  going  with  his  command  if  he  had 
to  be  carried  on  a  cot. 

From  the  New  York  Sun,  July,  1898.     Used  by  permission  of 
the  pubhshers. 


Characteristic  Ideals  83 

As  with  flashing  eyes  and  gleaming  sword,  and  hair  and 

beard  of  snow, 
Into  the  hell  of  shot  and  shell  rode  little  old  Fighting  Joe  I 

Sick  with  fever  and  racked  with  pain,  he  could  not  stay 
away, 

For  he  heard  the  song  of  the  yester-year  in  the  deep- 
mouthed  cannon's  bay  — 

He  heard  in  the  calHng  song  of  the  guns  there  was  work 
for  him  to  do, 

Where  his  country's  best  blood  splashed  and  flowed 
'round  the  old  Red,  White,  and  Blue  I 

Fevered  body  and  hero  heart !  this  Union's  heart  to  you 
Beats  out  in  love  and  reverence  —  and  to  each  dear  boy 

in  blue 
Who  stood  or  fell  'mid  the  shot  and  shell,  and  cheered  in 

the  face  of  the  foe. 
As,  wan  and  white,  to  the  heart  of  the  fight  rode  little 

old  Fighting  Joe  I 

WHEN  WITH  THEIR  COUNTRY'S  ANGER » 
Richard  Watson  Gilder  (1844-1909) 

When  with  their  country's  anger 

They  flame  into  the  fight,  — 
On  sea.  in  treacherous  forest, 

To  strike  with  main  and  might,  — 

1  This  poem  by  Richard  Watson  Gilder,  well  known  not  only  as 
a  poet  but  as  the  editor  for  many  years  of  the  Century  Magazine^ 
was  written  during  the  period  of  the  war  with  Spain. 
From  Richard  Watson  Gilder's  Complete  Poems.  Copyright, 
1908,  by  Richard  Watson  Gilder.  Pubhshed  by  Houghton  MiSlin 
Company,  Boston.    Used  by  permission  of  the  publishers. 


84                       The  American  Spirit  \ 

He  shows  the  gentlest  mercy  j 

Who  rains  the  deadhest  blows ;  .j 

Then  quick  war's  hell  is  ended,  \ 

And  home  the  hero  goes.  -l 

What  stays  the  noblest  memory  ] 

For  all  his  years  to  keep  ?  ] 

Not  of  the  foemen  slaughtered,  -; 

But  rescued  from  the  deep !  i 

I 

Rescued  with  peerless  daring  I  ^ 

O,  none  shall  forget  that  sight,  I 

When  the  unaimed  cannon  thundered  ; 

In  the  ghastly  after-fight.  i 

And,  now,  in  the  breast  of  the  hero  i 

There  blooms  a  strange,  new  flower,  • 

A  blood-red,  fragrant  blossom  I 

Sown  in  the  battle-hour.  j 

1 

'Tis  not  the  Love  of  Comrades,  —  I 

That  flower  forever  blows,  —  ] 

But  the  brave  man's  Love  of  CouragCj  ] 

The  Love  of  Comrade-Foes.        "  ^ 

For  since  the  beginning  of  battles                      '  ] 

On  the  land  and  on  the  wave,  i 

Heroes  have  answered  to  heroes,  \ 

The  brave  have  honored  the  brave.  J 


Characteristic  Ideals  85 

(3)   The  Fight  for  a  Cause 


AMERICAN   IDEALS  NOT  IMPERIALISTIC  ^ 

William  McKinley  (1843-1901) 

That  the  inhabitants  of  the  Philippines  will  be  benefited 
by  this  Republic  is  my  unshaken  belief.  That  they  will 
have  a  kindher  government  under  our  guidance  and  that 
they  will  be  aided  in  every  possible  way  to  be  a  self- 
respecting  and  self-governing  people  is  as  true  as  that  the 
American  people  love  hberty  and  have  an  abiding  faith 
in  their  own  government  and  in  their  own  institutions. 
No  imperial  designs  lurk  in  the  American  mind.  They 
are  alien  to  American  sentiment,  thought,  and  purpose. 
Our  priceless  principles  undergo  no  change  under  a 
tropical  sun.  They  go  with  the  flag.  They  are  wrought 
in  every  one  of  its  sacred  folds  and  are  inextinguishable 
in  its  shining  stars. 

Why  read  ye  not  the  changeless  truth, 
The  free  can  conquer  but  to  save? 

If  we  can  benefit  these  remote  peoples,  who  will  object  ? 
If  in  the  years  of  the  future  they  are  estabhshed  in  govern- 
ment under  law  and  liberty,  who  will  regret  our  perils 
and  sacrifices  ?  Who  will  not  rejoice  in  our  heroism  and 
humanity  ?  Always  perils,  and  always  after  them  safety ; 
always  darkness  and  clouds,  but  always  shining  through 
them  the  light  and  the  sunshine ;  always  cost  and  sacrifice, 

^  A  speech  made  in  Boston,  February  16,  1899,  at  a  time  when  our 
national  policy  with  reference  to  the  Philippine  Islands,  acquired 
through  war  with  Spain,  was  still  unsettled. 

From  "Souvenir  of  the  Visit  of  President  McKinley  and  Members 
of  the  Cabinet  to  Boston,  February,  1899."  Copyright,  1899,  by 
The  Home  Market  Club,  Boston. 


86  The  American  Spirit 

but  always  after  them  the  fruition  of  Hberty,  education, 
and  civiUzation. 

I  have  no  Hght  or  knowledge  not  common  to  my 
countrymen.  I  do  not  prophesy.  The  present  is  all- 
absorbing  to  me,  but  I  cannot  bound  my  vision  by  the 
blood-stained  trenches  around  Manila,  where  every  red 
drop,  whether  from  the  veins  of  an  American  soldier  or  a 
misguided  Filipino,  is  anguish  to  my  heart ;  but  by  the 
broad  range  of  future  years,  when  that  group  of  islands, 
under  the  impulse  of  the  year  just  passed,  shall  have 
become  the  gems  and  glories  of  those  tropical  seas;  a 
land  of  plenty  and  of  increasing  possibihties ;  a  people 
redeemed  from  savage  indolence  and  habits,  devoted  to 
the  arts  of  peace,  in  touch  with  the  commerce  and  trade 
of  all  nations,  enjoying  the  blessings  of  freedom,  of  civil 
and  religious  liberty,  of  education  and  of  homes,  and 
whose  children  and  children's  children  shall  for  ages  hence 
bless  the  American  Republic  because  it  emancipated 
and  redeemed  their  fatherland  and  set  them  in  the  path- 
way of  the  world's  best  civiUzation. 

THE  AMERICAN  FLAG  NOT  THE  DOLLAR 
SIGNi 

Henry  Cabot  Lodge  (1850-       ) 

No  one  has  a  greater  admiration  than  I  for  the  marvel- 
ous achievements  of  the  American  people  in  the  last  cen- 
tury, for  the  conquest  of  this  mighty  continent,  for  all 

*  From  a  speech  before  the  Republican  State  Convention  of 
Massachusetts,  March  27,  1896.  In  "Speeches  and  Addresses  of 
Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  1884-1909."  Copyright,  1892,  1909,  by 
Henry  Cabot  Lodge.  Published  by  Houghton  MiffUn  Company, 
Boston.     Used  by  permission  of  the  publishers. 


Characteristic  Ideals  87 

the  material  welfare  which  has  sprung  up  as  if  by  magic 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  Our  business  enterprise, 
our  business  intelligence,  our  business  activity,  are  among 
the  glories  of  the  repubHc.  I  have  labored  ever  since 
I  have  been  in  public  fife  to  advance  by  every  means  in 
my  power  every  measure  that  makes  for  the  business 
interests  of  the  country.  No  one  values  their  impor- 
tance more  highly  than  I. 

But,  gentlemen,  I  have  seen  it  constantly  stated,  and 
this  is  the  point  I  wish  to  make  —  that  we  must  not  deal 
with  anything  but  business  questions. 

Now,  there  is  a  great  deal  more  than  that  in  the  life 
of  every  great  nation.  There  is  patriotism,  love  of  coun- 
try, pride  of  race,  ^courage,  manhness,  the  things  which 
money  cannot  make  and  which  money  cannot  buy.  .  .  . 

You  may  call  it  sentiment  or  passion  or  what  you  will, 
but  love  of  country  is  one  of  the  great  moving  causes  of 
national  life.  When  we  look  at  that  flag,  what  is  it  that 
makes  our  hearts  throb  ?  If  you  see  it  in  a  foreign  land,  after 
months  of  separation,  what  is  it  that  makes  your  throat 
choke  and  your  eyes  get  damp  ?  Is  it  because  a  great  many 
men  have  made  money  under  it?  I  beheve  that  that 
flag  is  a  great  deal  more  than  the  sign  of  a  successful  na- 
tional shop,  never  to  be  unfurled  for  fear  that  the  trader 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  way  may  have  his  feeHngs 
ruffled ;  I  think  it  is  a  great  deal  more  than  that.  And 
when  I  look  at  it,  I  do  not  see  and  you  do  not  see  there 
the  graven  image  of  the  dollar ;  you  do  not  read  there 
the  motto  of  the  epicure,  *'Let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to- 
morrow we  die."  No;  you  read  on  that  flag  the  old 
Latin  motto,  Per  aspera  ad  astra  —  Through  toil  and 
conflict  to  the  stars. 

You  do  not  see  the  doUar  on  it.     But  when  you  look, 


N. 


88  The  American  Spirit 

and  your  heart  swells  within  you  as  you  look,  the  memories 
that  come  are  very  different.  If  you  see  any  faces  there, 
they  are  the  faces  of  Washington  and  his  Continentals 
behind  him,  marching  from  defeat  at  Long  Island  to  vic- 
tory at  Trenton,  to  misery  at  Valley  Forge,  to  final  triumph 
at  Yorktown.  Look  again  and  we  all  see  the  face  of 
Lincoln.  The  mighty  host  are  there  of  the  men  who  have 
lived  for  their  country  and  given  their  lives  for  their 
country  and  labored  for  it,  each  in  his  separate  way,  and 
beheved  in  it  and  loved  it.  They  are  all  there,  from  the 
great  chiefs  to  the  boys  who  fell  in  Baltimore.  That  is 
what  I  see,  that  is  what  you  see.  That  is  why  we  love 
it,  because  it  means  this  great  country  and  all  the  people. 
It  means  all  the  struggles  and  suiFeyings  we  have  gone 
through,  all  our  hopes,  all  our  aspirations.  It  means 
that  we  are  a  great  nation  and  intend  to  take  a  nation's 
part  in  the  family  of  nations.  It  means  that  we  are  the 
guardians  of  this  Western  Hemisphere  and  will  not  have 
it  rashly  invaded.  It  means  the  one  successful  experi- 
ment of  representative  democracy.  It  means  victorious 
democracy.  That  is  what  it  means,  and  that  is  what 
I  see  there  and  that  is  what  you  see  there.  And  much 
as  I  CEire  for  business  and  economic  questions,  I  never 
will  admit  that  they  are  all  or  that  the  duty  of  a  pubUc 
man  ceases  with  them.  There  are  other  questions  that 
must  be  dealt  with  also.  I  never  will  admit  that  that 
beloved  flag  is  to  me  merely  the  symbol  of  a  land  where 
I  can  live  in  rich  content  and  make  money.  No :  I  see 
it  as  the  American  poet  saw  it : 

And  .fixed  as  yonder  orb  divine 

That  saw  thy  bannered  blaze  unfurled, 

Shall  thy  proud  stars  resplendent  shine 
The  guard  and  glory  of  the  world. 


Characteristic  Ideals  89 

OUR  PAN-AMERICAN  POLICY  ^ 
EuHu  Root  (1845-        ) 

No  nation  can  live  unto  itself  alone  and  continue  to  live. 
Each  nation's  growth  is  a  part  of  the  development  of  the 
race.     There  may  be  leaders  and  there  may  be  laggards, 
but  no  nation  can  long  continue  very  far  in  advance  of  the 
general  progress  of  mankind,  and  no. nation  that  is  not 
doomed  to  extinction  can  remain  very  far  behind.     It  is 
with  nations  as  it  is  with  individual  men ;    intercourse, 
association,   correction  of  egotism  by  the  influence  of    ;« 
others'  judgment,  broadening  of  views  by  the  experience    v 
and  thought  of  equals,  acceptance  of  the  moral  standards    f 
of  a  community,  the  desire  for  whose  good  opinion  lends   ' 
a  sanction  to  the  rules  of  right  conduct,  —  these  are  the 
conditions  of  growth  in  civihzation.     A  people  whose  ^ 
minds  are  not  open  to  the  lessons  of  the  world's  progress, 
whose  spirits  are  not  stirred  by  the  aspirations  and  ther* 
achievements  of  humanity  struggling  the  world  over  for  i 
liberty  and  justice,  must  be  left  behind  by  civilization,  in  ^ 
its  steady  and  beneficent  advance.  ... 

These   benefiG^it-~reettlts    th^'^jovemment-and^the   J" 
people  of  the  United  States  of-A«ierica  greatly  desire:    p 

We  wish  for  no  victories  but  those  of  peace ;  for  no 

: : ^ 

1  No  one  is  better  fitted  to  speak  of  our  policy  toward  other  Ameri- 
can republics  than  Senator  Root,  who  was  Secretary  of  War 
under  President  McKinley,  1899-1904 ;  Secretary  of  State  under 
President  Roosevelt,  1905-1909 ;  Senator  from  New  York,  1905- 
1915;  and  in  1915  president  of  the  New  York  Constitutional 
Convention. 

From  "Latin  America  and  the  United  States,"  addresses  by 
Elihu  Root,  collected  and  edited  by  Robert  Bacon  and  John 
Brown  Scott.  Copyright,  1917,  by  Harvard  University  Press, 
Cambridge,  Mass.     Used  by  permission  of  the  publishers. 


90  The  American  Spirit 

territory  except  our  own ;  for  no  sovereignty  except  the 
sovereignty  over  ourselves.  We  deem  the  independence 
and  equal  rights  of  the  smallest  and  weakest  member  of 
the  family  of  nations  entitled  to  as  much  respect  as  those 
of  the  greatest  empire,  and  we  deem  the  observance  of 
that  respect  the  chief  guaranty  of  the  weak  against  the 
oppression  of  the  strong.  We  neither  claim  nor  desire 
^ny  rights,  or  privileges,  or  powers  that  we  do  not  freely- 
-^^icede  to  every  American  republic.  We  wish  to  in- 
crease our  prosperity,  to  expand  our  trade,  to  grow  in 
wealth,  in  wisdom,  and  in   spirit,  but  our  conception  of 

)the  true  way  to  accompUsh  this  is  not  to  pull  down 
others  and  profit  by  their  ruin,  but  to  help  all  friends  to 
%^    a  common  prosperity  and  a  common  growth,  that  we  may 
^  all  become  greater  and  stronger  together.  ... 
\  Let  us  help  each  other  to  show  that  for  all  the  races  of 

I  ^  men  the  Hberty  for  which  we  have  fought  and  labored  is 
i^  the  twin  sister  of  justice  and  peace.     Let  us  unite  in  creat- 
ing and  maintaining  and  making  effective  an  all- American 
pubhc  opinion,  whose  power  shall  influence  international 
jonducl^sffidr^revent  international  wrong,  and  narrow  the 
J  'causes  of  war,  and  forever  preserve  our  free  lands  from  the 
r5  -burden  of  such  armaments  as  are  massed  behind  the 
^   frontiers  of  Europe,  and  bring  us  ever  nearer  to  the  perfec- 
|»  )    tion  of  ordered  liberty.     So  shall  come  security  and  pros- 
is^   perity,  production  and  trade,  wealth,  learning,  the  arts, 
and  happiness  for  us  all. 


Characteristic  Ideals  91 

AMERICANISM  i 

Theodore  Roosevelt  (1858-        ) 

There  are  two  or  three  things  that  Americanism  means. 
In  the  first  place  it  means  that  we  shall  give  to  our  fellow 
man,  to  our  fellow  citizen,  the  same  wide  latitude  as  to 
his  individual  behefs  that  we  demand  for  ourselves ;  that, 
so  long  as  a  man  does  his  work  as  a  man  should,  we  shall 
not  inquire,  we  shall  not  hold  for  or  against  him  in  civic 
hfe,  his  method  of  paying  homage  to  his  Maker.  That 
is  an  important  lesson  for  all  of  us  to  learn  everywhere, 
but  it  is  doubly  important  in  our  great  cities,  where  we 
have  a  cosmopoHtan  population  of  such  various  origin, 
belonging  .to  such  different  creeds,  and  where  the  problem 
of  getting  good  government  depends  in  its  essence  upon 
decent  men  standing  together  and  insisting  that  before 
we  take  into  account  the  ordinary  political  questions, 
we  shall,  as  a  prerequisite,  have  decency  and  honesty 
in  ^y  party.  ^ 

Now  for  another  side  of  Americanism ;  the  side  of  the 
work,  the  strife,  of  the  active  performance  of  duty ;  one 
side  of  Americanism,  one  side  of  democracy.  Our  democ- 
racy means  that  we  have  no  privileged  class,  no  class  that 
is  exempt  from  the  duties  or  deprived  of  the  privileges 
that  are  imphed  in  the  words  "American  citizenship.'* 
Now,  that  principle  has  two  sides  to  it,  itself,  for  all  of  us 
would  be  hkely  to  dwell  continually  upon  one  side,  that  all 
have  equal  rights.  It  is  more  important  that  we  should 
dwell  on  the  other  side ;  that  is,  that  we  will  have  our 
duties,  and  that  the  rights  cannot  be  kept  unless  the  duties 
are  performed. 

^  Used  by  permission  of  the  author. 


92  The  American  Spirit 

The  law  of  American  life  —  of  course  it  is  the  law  of 
life  everywhere  —  the  law  of  American  life,  peculiarly, 
must  be  the  law  of  work ;  not  the  law  of  idleness ;  not 
the  law  of  self-indulgence  or  pleasure,  merely  the  law  of 
work.  That  may  seem  like  a  trite  saying.  Most  true 
sayings  are  trite.  It  is  a  disgrace  for  any  American  not 
to  do  his  duty,  but  it  is  a  double,  a  triple  disgrace  for  a 
man  of  means  or  a  man  of  education  not  to  do  his  duty. 
The  only  work  worth  doing  is  done  by  those  men,  those 
women,  who  learn  not  to  shrink  from  difficulties,  but  to 
face  them  and  overcome  them.  So  that  Americanism  means 
work,  means  effort,  means  the  constant  and  unending 
strife  with  our  conditions,  which  is  not  only  the  law  of 
nature,  if  the  race  is  to  progress,  but  which  is  really  the 
law  of  the  highest  happiness  for  ourselves. 

You  have  got  to  have  the  same  interest  in  public  affairs 
as  in  private  affairs  or  you  cannot  keep  this  country  what 
this  country  should  be.  You  have  got  to  have  more 
than-that  —  you  4iQve  got  to  have  courage.  I  don't 
care  how  good  a  man  is  ;  if  he  is  timid,  his  value  is  limited. 
The  timid  will  not  amount  to  very  much  in  the  world. 
I  want  to  see  a  good  man  ready  to  smite  with  the  sword. 
I  want  to  see  him  able  to  hold  his  own  in  active  life  against 
the  force  of  evil.  I  want  to  see  him  war  effectively  for 
righteousness. 

Of  all  the  things  we  don't  want  to  see,  the  most  unde- 
sirable is  the  tendency  to  divide  into  two  camps ;  on  the 
one  side  all  the  nice,  pleasant,  refined  people  of  high 
instincts  but  no  capacity  to  do  work,  and  on  the  other 
hand,  men  who  have  not  got  nice  instincts  at  all,  but 
who  are  not  afraid.  When  you  get  that  condition,  you 
are  preparing  immeasurable  disaster  for  the  nation. 
You  have  got  to  combine  decency  and  honesty  with 


Characteristic  Ideals  93 

courage.  But  even  that  is  not  enough,  for  I  don't  care 
how  brave,  how  honest  a  man  is,  if  he  is  a  natural-born 
fool,  he  cannot  be  a  success.  He  has  got  to  have  the 
saving  grace  of  common  sense.  He  has  got  to  have  the 
right  kind  of  heart,  he  has  got  to  be  upright  and  decent, 
he  has  got  to  be  brave,  and  he  has  got  to  have  common 
sense.  He  has  got  to  have  intelligence,  and  if  he  has 
these,  then  he  has  in  him  the  making  of  a  first-class  Ameri- 
can citizen. 

AMERICA  FOR  MEI^ 

Henry  van  Dyke  (1852-        ) 

'Tis  fine  to  see  the  Old  World,  and  travel  up  and  down 

Among  the  famous  palaces  and  cities  of  renown, 

To  admire  the  crumbly  castles  and  the  statues  of  the 

kings,  — 
But  now  I  think  Fve  had  enough  of  antiquated  things. 

So  iVs  home  again,  and  home  again,  America  for  me! 
My  heart  is  turning  home  again,  and  there  I  long  to  be. 
In  the  land  of  youth  and  freedom  beyond  the  ocean  bars. 
Where  the  air  is  full  of  sunlight  and  the  flag  is  full  of 
stars. 

Oh,  London  is  a  man's  town,  there's  power  in  the  air ; 
And  Paris  is  a  woman's  town,  with  flowers  in  her  hair ; 
And  it's  sweet  to  dream  in  Venice,  and  it's  great  to  study 

Rome; 
But  when  it  comes  to  living,  there  is  no  place  like  home. 

1  From  "  Poems  of  Henry  van  Dyke."     Copyright,  1911,  by  Charles 
Scribner's  Sons,  New  York.     Used  by  pernaission  of  the  publishers. 


94  The  American  Spirit 

I  like  the  German  fir-woods,  in  green  battalions  drilled ; 
I  like  the  gardens  of  Versailles,  with  flashing  fountains 

fiUed; 
But  oh,  to  take  your  hand,  my  dear,  and  ramble  for 

a  day 
In  the  friendly  western  woodland  where  Nature  has  her 

way  I 

I  know  that  Europe's  wonderful,  yet  something  seems  to 

lack: 
The  Past  is  too  much  with  her,  and  the  people  looking 

back. 
But  the  glory  of  the  Present  is  to  make  the  Future  free,  — 
We  love  our  land  for  what  she  is  and  what  she  is  to  be. 

Oh,  ifs  home  again,  and  home  again,  America  for  me! 
I  want  a  ship  that's  westward  bound  to  plow  the  rolling 

sea. 
To  the  blessed  Land  of  Room  Enough  beyond  the  ocean 

bars. 
Where  the  air  is  full  of  sunlight  and  the  flag  is  full  of 

stars. 


IV.    DEMOCRACY 


'                 DEMOCRACY  1  i 

Harriet  Monroe  (1860-        )  ■ 

For,  lo  I  the  living  God  doth  bare  His  arm.  j 

No  more  He  makes  His  house  of  clouds  and  gloom.  j 

Lightly  the  shuttles  move  within  His  loom ;  ': 

Unveiled^His  thunder  leaps  to  meet  the  storm.  | 

From  God's  right  hand  man  takes  the  powers  that  j 

sway  j 

A  universe  of  stars ;  i 
He  bows  them  down,  he  bids  them  go  or  stay, 

He  tames  them  for  his  wars.  j 
He  scans  the  burning  paces  of  the  sun, 
And  names  the  invisible  orbs  whose  courses  run 

Through  the  dim  deeps  of  space.  I 

He  sees  in  dew  upon  a  rose  impearled  ^ 

The  swarming  legions  of  a  monad  world  j 

Begin  life's  upward  race.  ; 

Voices  of  hope  he  hears  j 

Long  dumb  to  his  despair,  1 

And  dreams  of  golden  years  ^ 

Meet  for  a  world  so  fair.  | 

For  now  Democracy  dares  wake  and  rise  ' 

From  the  sweet  sloth  of  youth.  i 
By  storms  made  strong,  by  many  dreams  made  wise, 

He  clasps  the  hand  of  Truth. 

1  From  the  Columbian  Ode,  written  by  Miss  Monroe  for  the  dedica-  ' 

tion  ceremonies  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  at  which  ' 

it  was  read  on  the  four  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  discovery  of  ' 

America,  October  21,  1892.     Used  by  permission  of  the  author.  ' 

95 


96  The  American  Spirit 

Through  the  armed  nations  lies  his  path  of  peace, 

The  open  book  of  knowledge  in  his  hand. 
Food  to  the  starving,  to  the  oppressed  release, 
And  love  to  all  he  beeirs  from  land  to  leuid. 
Before  his  march  the  barriers  fall, 
The  law  grows  gentle  at  his  call. 
His  glowing  breath  blows  far  away 
The  fogs  that  veil  the  coming  day  — 
That  wondrous  day 
When  earth  shall  sing  as  through  the  blue  she  rolls. 
Laden  with  joy  for  all  her  thronging  souls. 
Then  shall  want's  call  to  sin  resound  no  more 

Across  her  teeming  fields.     And  pain  shall  sleep, 
Soothed  by  brave  science  with  her  magic  lore. 

And  war  no  more  shall  bid  the  nations  weep. 
Then  the  worn  chains  shall  sHp  from  man's  desire, 
And  ever  higher  and  higher 
His  swift  foot  shall  aspire ; 
Still  deeper  and  more  deep  ' 

His  soul  its  watch  shall  keep, 
Till  love  shall  make  the  world  a  holy  place, 
Where  knowledge  dares  unveil  God's  very  face. 

Not  yet  the  angels  hear  life's  last  sweet  song. 

Music  unutterably  pure  and  strong 

From  earth  shall  rise  to  haunt  the  peopled  skies. 

When  the  long  march  of  time, 
Patient  in  birth  and  death,  in  growth  and  blight. 
Shall  lead  man  up  through  happy  realms  of  light 

Unto  his  goal  sublime. 


Democracy  97 

THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLIC  i 

George  William  Curtis  (1824-1892) 

There  is  no  fellow  citizen  of  ours,  wherever  he  may  be 
today,  whether  saihng  the  remotest  seas  or  wandering 
among  the  highest  Alps,  however  far  removed,  however 
long  separated  from  his  home,  who,  as  his  eyes  open 
upon  this  glorious  morning,  does  not  .  .  .  thank  God 
with  all  his  heart  that  he  too  is  an  American.  In  imag- 
ination he  sees  infinitely  multiplied  the  very  scene  that 
we  behold.  From  every  roof  and  gable,  from  every  door 
and  window,  of  all  the  myriads  of  happy  American  homes 
from  the  seaboard  to  the  mountains,  and  from  the  moun- 
tains still  onward  to  the  sea,  the  splendor  of  this  summer 
heaven  is  reflected  in  the  starry  beauty  of  the  American 
flag.  From  every  steeple  and  tower  in  crowded  cities 
and  towns,  from  the  viUage  belfry  and  the  school-house 
and  meetinghouse  on  solitary  country  roads,  ring  out 
the  joyous  peals.  From  countless  thousands  of  reverent 
lips  ascends  the  voice  of  prayer.  Everywhere  the  in- 
spiring words  of  the  great  Declaration  that  we  have  heard, 
the  charter  of  our  independence,  the  scripture  of  our 
liberty,  is  read  aloud  in  eager,  in  grateful  ears.  And 
above  aU,  and  under  all,  pulsing  through  all  the  praise 
and  prayer,  from  the  frozen  sea  to  the  tropic  gulf,  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  the  great  heart  of  a  great  people 
beats  in  fullness  of  joy,  beats  with  pious  exultation,  that 
here  at  last,  upon  our  soil,  —  here,  by  the  wisdom  of  our 

*  From  an  oration  delivered  at  Northfield,  New  York,  on  the  one 
hundredth  anniversary  of  our  national  independence.  In  "Ora- 
tions and  Addresses  of  George  William  Curtis,"  Vol.  III.  Copy- 
right, 1893,  by  Harper  &  Brothers,  New  York.  Used  by  permis- 
sion of  the  publishers. 


98  The  American  Spirit 

fathers  and  the  bravery  of  our  brothers,  is  founded  a 
republic,  vast,  fraternal,  peaceful,  upon  the  divine  corner 
stone  of  liberty,  justice,  and  equal  rights. 

There  have,  indeed,  been  other  republics,  but  they 
were  founded  upon  other  'principles.  There  are  re- 
publics in  Switzerland  today  a  thousand  years  old.  But 
Uri,  Schwyz,  and  Unterwalden^  are  pure  democracies, 
not  larger  than  the  county  in  which  we  hve,  and  wholly 
unlike  our  vast  national  and  representative  republic. 
Athens  was  a  republic,  but  Marathon  and  Salamis, 
battles  whose  names  are  melodious  in  the  history  of 
liberty,  were  won  by  slaves.  Rome  was  a  repubUc, 
but  slavery  degraded  it  to  an  empire.  Venice,  Genoa, 
Florence,  were  republican  cities ;  but  they  were  tyrants 
over  subject  neighbors,  and  slaves  of  aristocrats  at  home. 
There  were  republics  in  Holland,  honorable  forever,  be- 
cause from  them  we  received  our  common  schools,  the 
bulwark  of  American  liberty;  but  they,  too,  were  re- 
publics of  classes,  not  of  the  people.  It  was  reserved 
for  our  fathers  to  build  a  repubHc  upon  a  declaration  of 
the  equal  rights  of  men ;  to  make  the  government  as 
broad  as  humanity;  to  found  political  institutions  upon 
faith  in  human  nature.  "The  sacred  rights  of  man- 
kind," fervently  exclaimed  Alexander  Hamilton,  "are 
not  to  be  rummaged  for  among  old  parchments  or  musty 
records;  they  are  written  as  with  a  sunbeam  in  the 
whole  volume  of  human  nature,  by  the  hand  of  Divinity 
itself."  That  was  the  sublime  faith  in  which  this 
century  began.  The  world  stared  and  sneered  —  the 
difficulties  and  dangers  were  colossal.  For  more  than 
eighty  years  that  Declaration  remained  only  a  declara- 

1  Cantons  of  the  Swiss  Republic,  which  correspond  to  the  states 
of  the  American  Union. 


Democracy  99 

tion  of  faith.  But,  fellow  citizens,  fortunate  beyond  all 
men,  our  eyes  beheld  its  increasing  fulfillment.  The 
sublime  faith  of  the  fathers  is  more  and  more  the  famihar 
fact  of  the  children.  .  .  . 

But  we  have  learned,  by  sharp  experience,  that  pros- 
perity is  girt  with  peril.  In  this  hour  of  exultation  we 
will  not  scorn  the  wise  voices  of  warning  and  censure, 
the  friendly  and  patriotic  voices  of  the  time.  We  will 
not  forget  that  the  vital  condition  of  national  greatness 
and  prosperity  is  the  moral  character  of  the  people.  It 
is  not  vast  territory,  a  temperate  chmate,  exhaustless 
mines,  enormous  wealth,  amazing  inventions,  imperial 
enterprises,  magnificent  pubHc  works,  a  population 
miraculously  multipb'ed ;  it  is  not  busy  shops,  and  hum- 
ming mills,  and  flaming  forges,  and  commerce  that  girdles 
the  globe  with  the  glory  of  a  flag,  that  make  a  nation 
truly  great.  These  are  but  opportunities.  They  are 
like  the  health  and  strength  and  talents  of  a  man,  which 
are  not  his  character  and  manhood,  but  only  the  means 
of  their  development.  .  .  . 

The  country  of  a  century  ago  was  our  fathers*  small 
estate.  That  of  today  is  our  noble  heritage.  FideHty 
to  the  spirit  and  principles  of  our  fathers  wiU  enable  us 
to  deHver  it  enlarged,  beautified,  ennobled,  to  our  children 
of  the  new  century.  Unwavering  faith  in  the  absolute 
supremacy  of  the  moral  law,  the  clear  perception  that 
well-considered,  thoroughly  proved,  and  jealously  guarded 
institutions  are  the  chief  security  of  Hberty,  and  an  un- 
swerving loyalty  to  ideas  made  the  men  of  the  Revolu- 
tion and  secured  American  independence.  The  same 
faith  and  the  same  loyalty  will  preserve  that  independence, 
and  secure  progressive  liberty  forever.  And  here  and 
now,  upon  this  sacred  centennial  altar,  let  us,  at  least, 


100  The  American  Spirit 

swear  that  we  will  try  public  and  private  men  by  pre- 
cisely the  same  moral  standard ;  and  that  no  man  who 
directly  or  indirectly  connives  at  corruption  or  coercion, 
to  acquire  office  or  to  retain  it,  or  who  prostitutes  any 
opportunity  or  position  of  public  service  to  his  own  or 
another's  advantage,  shall  have  our  countenance  or  our 
vote.  The  one  thing  that  no  man  in  this  country  is  so 
poor  that  he  cannot  own  is  his  vote ;  and  he  is  bound  to 
use  it  not  only  honestly,  but  intelligently.  Good  govern- 
ment does  not  come  of  itself ;  it  is  the  result  of  the  skillful 
cooperation  of  good  and  shrewd  men.  If  they  will  not 
combine,  bad  men  will;  and  if  they  sleep,  the  devil 
will  sow  tares.  And,  as  we  pledge  ourselves  to  our  fathers' 
fidelity,  we  may  well  believe  that  in  this  hushed  hour  of 
no6n  their  gracious  spirits  bend  over  us  in  benediction. 

PECULIARITY  OF  AMERICAN  LIRERTYi 

Daniel  Webster  (1782-1852) 

The  inheritance  which  we  enjoy  today  is  not  only  an 
inheritance  of  liberty,  but  of  our  own  peculiar  American 
liberty.  Liberty  has  existed  in  other  times,  in  other 
countries,  and  in  other  forms.  There  has  been  a  Grecian 
liberty,  bold  and  powerful,  full  of  spirit,  eloquence,  and 
fire ;  a  Hberty  which  produced  multitudes  of  great  men, 
and  has  transmitted  one  immortal  name,  the  name  of 
Demosthenes,  to  posterity.  But  still  it  was  a  liberty 
of  disconnected  states,  sometimes  united,  indeed,  by 
temporary  leagues  and  confederacies,  but  often  involved 
in   wars   between   themselves.      The   sword   of   Sparta 

1  From  "An  Address  Delivered  at  the  Laying  of  the  Corner  Stone 
of  the  Addition  to  the  Capitol,  on  July  4, 1851,"  in  Works  of  Daniel 
Webster,  Vol.  II.     Printed  by  Little,  Brown  &  Co.,  Boston,  1853. 


Democmly  JOl 

turned  its  sharpest  edge  against  Athens,  enslaved  her 
and  devastated  Greece;  and,  in  her  turn,  Sparta  was 
compelled  to  bend  before  the  power  of  Thebes.  And  let 
it  ever  be  remembered,  especially  let  the  truth  sink  deep 
into  all  American  minds,  that  it  was  the  want  of  union 
among  her  several  states  which  finally  gave  the  mastery  of 
all  Greece  to  Philip  of  Macedon. 

And  there  has  also  been  a  Roman  liberty,  a  proud, 
ambitious,  domineering  spirit,  professing  free  and  popu- 
lar principles  in  Rome  itself;  but  even  in  the  best  days 
of  the  republic  ready  to  €arry  slavery  and  chains  into  her 
provinces,  and  through  every  country  over  which  her 
eagles  could  be  borne.  What  was  the  liberty  of  Spain, 
or  Gaul,  or  Germany,  or  Rritain,  in  the  days  of  Rome? 
Did  true  constitutional  liberty  then  exist  ?  As  the  Roman 
Empire  decHned,  her  provinces,  not  instructed  in  the  prin- 
ciples of  free,  popular  government^  one  after  another  de- 
clined also ;  and,  when  Rome  herself  fell  in  the  end,  all 
fell  together. 

I  have  sjaid  that  our  inheritance  is  an  inheritance  of 
American  liberty.  That  liberty  is  characteristic,  peculiar, 
and  altogether  our  own.  Nothing  like  it  existed  in  former 
times,  nor  was  known  in  the  most  enlightened  states  of 
antiquity;  while  with  us  its  principles  have  become 
interwoven  into  the  minds  of  individual  men,  connected  with 
our  daily  opinions  and  our  daily  habits,  until  it  is,  if  I  may 
say  so,  an  element  of  social  as  well  as  political  life ;  and 
the  consequence  is,  that  to  whatever  region  an  American 
citizen  carries  himself,  he  takes  with  him,  fully  developed 
in  his  own  understanding  and  experience,  our  American 
principles  and  opinions;  and  becomes  ready  at  once,  in 
cooperation  with  others,  to  apply  them  to  the  formation 
of  new  governments.  .  .  . 


10^  , :    .,  . ,        'The  American  Spirit 

FREEDOM  1 

Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  (1803-1882) 

Freedom  all  winged  expands, 

Nor  perches  in  a  narrow  place ; 

Her  broad  van  seeks  unplanted  lands ; 

She  loves  a  poor  and  virtuous  race. 

Clinging  to  a  colder  zone 

Whose  dark  sky  sheds  the  snowflake  down, 

The  snowflake  is  her  banner's  star, 

Her  stripes  the  boreal  streamers  are. 

Long  she  loved  the  Northmen  well ; 

Now  the  iron  age  is  done, 

She  wiU  not  refuse  to  dwell 

With  the  off'spring  of  the  sun ; 

Foundling  of  the  desert  far. 

Where  palms  plume,  siroccos  blaze, 

He  roves  unhurt  the  burning  ways 

In  climates  of  the  summer  star. 

He  has  avenues  to  God 

Hid  from  men  of  Northern  brain. 

Far  beholding,  without  cloud. 

What  these  with  slowest  steps  attain. 


1  Emerson's  fame  rests  chiefly  upon  his  essays,  and  upon  a  few 
poems  of  a  high  order  deahng  with  nature  and  with  the  movement 
against  the  tyrannies  of  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
"Voluntaries,"  in  which  this  selection  is  to  be  found,  belongs  to 
the  latter  group.  While  this  poem  was  written  with  specific  refer- 
ence to  African  slavery,  the  spirit  of  it  finds  in  our  own  times 
peculiar  application  to  the  twentieth-century  problem  of  upHfting 
backward  and  oppressed  peoples. 

From  Emerson's  Complete  Works,  Vol.  IX.  Copyright,  1883, 
by  Edward  W.  Emerson.  PubUshed  by  Houghton  Mifflin  Com- 
pany, Boston.     Used  by  permission  of  the  publishers. 


Democracy  103 


If  once  the  generous  chief  arrive 
To  lead  him  willing  to  be  led, 
For  freedom  he  will  strike  and  strive 
And  drain  his  heart  till  he  be  dead. 


In  an  age  of  fops  and  toys,  l 

Wanting  wisdom,  void  of  right,  i 

Who  shall  nerve  heroic  boys  | 
To  hazard  all  in  Freedom's  fight,  — 

Break  sharply  off  their  jolly  games,  ; 

Forsake  their  comrades  gay,  i 
And  quit  proud  homos  and  youthful  dames, 

For  famine,  toil,  and  fray  ?  \ 

Yet  on  the  nimble  air  benign  ! 

Speed  nimbler  messages,  1 

That  waft  the  breath  of  grace  divine  \ 

To  hearts  in  sloth  and  ease.  j 

So  nigh  is  grandeur  to  our  dust,  j 

So  near  is  God  to  man,  I 

When  Duty  whispers  low.  Thou  must,  ' 
The  youth  rephes,  /  can. 

WHAT  CONSTITUTES  A  STATE  P  ^  ] 

Sir  William  Jones  (1746-1794)  j 

,1 
What  constitutes  a  State  ? 
Not  high-raised  battlement  or  labored  mound. 

Thick  wall,  or  moated  gate ; 

Not  cities  proud  with  spires  and  turrets  crowned ;  ! 

1  From  "An  Ode  in  Imitation  of  Alcaeus,"  in  Works  of  Sir  William  , 

Jones,  Vol.  IV.     Printed  for  G.  G.  and  J.  Robinson  and  R.  H.  ; 

Evans,  London,  1799.  j 

s 


104  The  American  Spirit 

Not  bays  and  broad-armed  ports 
Where,  laughing  at  the  storm,  rich  navies  ride ; 

Not  starred  and  spangled  courts, 
Where  low-brow'd  baseness  wafts  perfume  to  pride ; 

No :  —  Men  I  high-minded  men. 

Men  who  their  duties  know, 
But  know  their  rights,  and  knowing,  dare  maintain. 

Prevent  the  long-aimed  blow, 
And  crush  the  tyrant  while  they  rend  the  chain : 

These  constitute  a  State. 


LIBERTY  1 

John  Hay  (1838-1905)  \ 

What  man  is  there  so  bold  that  he  should  say :  \ 

"Thus,  and  thus  only,  would  I  have  the  sea" ?  } 

For  whether  lying  calm  and  beautiful,  | 

Clasping  the  earth  in  love,  and  throwing  back  i 

The  smile  of  heaven  from  waves  of  amethyst ;  j 

Or  whether,  freshened  by  the  busy  winds,  j 

It  bears  the  trade  and  navies  of  the  world  ] 

To  ends  of  use  or  stern  activity ;  3 

Or  whether,  lashed  by  tempests,  it  gives  way  ; 
To  elemental  fury,  howls  and  roars 

At  all  its  rocky  barriers,  in  wild  lust  I 

^  An    American    author    and    statesman,    Mr.    Hay    was    private  ! 

secretary  to  President  Lincoln  and  his  chief  biographer.     In  1897  \ 

he  was  appointed  Ambassador  to  Great  Britain  and  later  was  | 

Secretary  of  State  under  President  McKinley.  j 

From     Complete    Poetical    Works    of    John    Hay.      Copyright,  i 

1916,  by  Clarence  L.  Hay.     Published  by  Houghton  Mifflin  Com-  ' 

pany,  Boston.     Used  by  permission  of  the  publishers.  i 


Democracy  105 

Of  ruin,  drinks  the  blood  of  living  things 

And  strews  its  wrecks  o'er  leagues  of  desolate  shore,  — 

Always  it  is  the  sea,  and  men  bow  down 

Before  its  vast  and  varied  majesty. 

So  all  in  vain  will  timorous  ones  essay 

To  set  the  metes  and  bounds  of  Liberty. 

For  Freedom  is  its  own  eternal  law ; 

It  makes  its  own  conditions,  and  in  storm 

Or  calm  alike  fulfills  the  unerring  Will. 

Let  us  not  then  despise  it  when  it  lies 

Still  as  a  sleeping  lion,  while  a  swarm 

Of  gnathke  evils  hover  round  its  head ; 

Nor  doubt  it  when  in  mad,  disjointed  times 

It  shakes  the  torch  of  terror,  and  its  cry 

Shrills  o'er  the  quaking  earth,  and  in  the  flame 

Of  riot  and  war  we  see  its  awful  form 

Rise  by  the  scaffold,  where  the  crimson  ax 

Rings  down  its  grooves  and  knell  of  shuddering  kings. 

For  ever  in  thine  eyes,  0  Liberty, 

Shines  that  high  fight  whereby  the  world  is  saved, 

And  though  thou  slay  us,  we  will  trust  in  thee  I 


THE  THIRTIETH  MAN  ^ 

John  H.  Finley  (1863-        ) 

It  has  been  estimated  that  in  thickly  settled  commu- 
nities one  person  in  about  thirty  adults  is  a  pubfic  servant, 
that  is,  goes  up  and  down  in  some  vicarious  capacity  for 

^Baccalaureate  address,  June,  1911,  when  the  author  was  president 
of  the  College  of  the  City  of  New  York.  Used  by  permission  of 
the  author. 


106  The  American  Spirit 

the  other  twenty-nine.  The  ratio  varies  somewhat  accord- 
ing to  the  density  or  sparseness  of  the  population,  but 
for  the  present  purpose  let  us  assume  that  one  man  in 
thirty  is  so  engaged.  This  thirtieth  man  sweeps  the 
streets  of  the  city.  He  is  pontifex  of  the  country  roads. 
He  lights  the  lamps  when  the  natural  hghts  of  heaven  go 
out,  and  extinguishes  the  fires  of  the  earth.  With  one 
hand  he  gathers  our  letters  of  affection  or  business,  and 
with  the  other  distributes  them  in  the  remotest  cabins 
on  the  mountains.  He  weighs  the  wind,  reads  the  por- 
tent of  the  clouds,  and  gives  augur  of  heat  and  cold.  He 
makes  wells  in  the  dry  valleys  and  fills  the  pools  with 
water.  He  tests  the  milk  before  the  city  child  may  drink 
it.  He  tests  and  labels  the  food  of  the  stores  and  shops ; 
he  corrects  false  balances  and  short  measures,  and  he 
keeps  watch  over  forest  and  stream;  he  gives  warning 
of  rocks  and  shoals  to  men  at  sea,  and  of  plague  and  poison 
to  those  on  land.  He  is  warden  of  fish  and  bird  and  wild 
beast ;  he  is  host  to  the  homeless  and  shelterless ;  he  is 
guardian  and  nurse  to  the  child  who  comes  friendless  into 
the  world,  and  he  is  chaplain  at  the  burial  of  the  man  who 
goes  friendless  out  of  it.  He  is  assessor  and  collector  of 
taxes  —  treasurer  and  comptroller ;  he  is  the  teacher  of 
seventeen  miUion  children,  youths,  men,  and  women. 
He  is  public  librarian  and  maker  of  books,  overseer  of  the 
poor  and  superintendent,  doctor,  nurse,  and  guard,  in 
hospital,  prison,  and  almshouse ;  coroner  and  keeper  of 
the  potter's  field.  He  is  mayor,  judge,  pubhc  prosecutor, 
sheriff.  He  is  a  soldier  in  the  army  and  a  sailor  in  the 
navy;  general,  admiral,  legislator,  justice,  member  of 
the  Cabinet,  governor,  and  president. 

It  has  been  said  that  "democracy  is  always  dreaming 
of  a  nation  of  kings"  ;  kings  in  the  sense  of  men  who  are 


Democracy  107 

monarchs  of  themselves  at  least,  clear-visioned,  strong- 
willed,  clean- virtued  sovereigns.  It  is  of  that  dreaming, 
of  that  longing,  that  we  have  been  educated.  But  in 
another  sense  the  "kings"  of  democracy  are  these  "thir- 
tieth men,"  anointed,  appointed,  not  by  some  far-seeing 
prophet  Uving  apart  from  the  people,  but  selected  of  the 
hurried  and  often  fickle  desires  of  men,  in  the  midst  of  the 
struggle  for  existence.  The  casting  of  votes  for  such 
kings,  in  rough  boxes  in  tailor  shops  or  barber  shops  or 
like  places,  does  not  impress  one  with  the  importance 
and  sacredness  of  the  franchise.  And  yet  the  timid 
journey  of  Samuel  to  a  village  in  Judaea  to  anoint  the  son 
of  Jesse  to  kingship  was  not  a  more  significant  pilgrimage 
than  is  that  of  a  mechanic,  merchant,  or  lawyer  who  goes 
into  the  booth  to  cast  his  vote  for  the  thirtieth  man  in  a 
repubhc. 

Many  of  you  will  be  called  to  act  as  pubhc  servants.  All 
of  you,  by  the  very  fact  of  your  education,  will  be  called 
to  pubhc  service.  Did  any  king  of  ancient  or  even  modern 
times,  for  example,  have  a  higher  commission  than  that 
which  one  generation  gives  to  a  teacher  in  its  pubhc 
school,  coUege,  or  university,  to  prepare  its  children  for 
a  better,  happier,  nobler  Uving  in  the  next  generation? 
Can  you  imagine  a  king  anointed  to  a  hoher  service  than 
that  to  which  a  nurse  is  set  apart,  of  pubhc  sympathy 
and  true  unselfishness?  Or  a  doctor,  bacteriologist,  or 
health  officer,  guarding  against  the  pestilence  that  walks 
in  darkness?  Or  the  pubhc-spirited  citizen  with  no  axes 
to  grind,  throwing  hght  upon  the  path  that  leads  to  better 
government  ?  It  is  to  such  service  that  you  will  be  called. 
You  will  be  in  the  pubhc  service.  You  will  be  kings  of 
whom  democracy  is  dreaming. 


108  The  American  Spirit 

LABOR  AND   DEMOCRACY  * 

We  have  passed  the  period  when  any  one  nation  can 
maintain  its  freedom  irrespectively  of  other  nations. 
CiviUzation  has  closely  linked  nations  together  by  the 
ties  of  commerce,  and  quick  communication,  common 
interests,  problems,  and  purposes.  The  future  of  free 
nations  will  depend  upon  their  joint  ability  to  devise 
agencies  for  deahng  with  their  common  affairs  so  that 
the  greatest  opportunity  for  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit 
of  happiness  may  be  assured  to  all. 

This  matter  of  world  democracy  is  of  vital  interest  to 
Labor.  Labor  is  not  a  sect  or  a  peirty.  It  represents  the 
invincible  desire  for  greater  opportunity  of  the  masses 
of  all  nations.  Labor  is  the  brawn,  sinews,  and  brains 
of  society.  It  is  the  user  of  tools.  Tools  under  the  crea- 
tive power  of  muscle  and  brains  shape  the  materials  of 
civilization.  Labor  makes  possible  every  great  forward 
movement  of  the  world.  But  Labor  is  inseparable  from 
physical  and  spiritual  Hfe  and  progress.  Labor  now 
makes  it  possible  that  this  titanic  struggle  for  democratic 
freedom  can  be  made. 

The  common  people  everywhere  are  hungry  for  wider 
opportunities  to  Uve.  They  have  shown  the  wilUngness  to 
spend  or  be  spent  for  an  ideal.  They  are  in  this  war  for 
ideals.  .  .  .  President  Wilson's  statement  of  war  aims 
has  been  unreservedly  endorsed  by  British  organized  labor. 
It  is  in  absolute  hgirmony  with,  the  fundamentals  endorsed 
by  the  Buffalo  convention  of  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor. 

^  From  the  declaration  issued  by  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor  at  its  regular  meeting  in  Washington,  February  10-17,  1918, 
and  reprinted  in  the  American  Federaiionist  for  March,  1918.  Used 
by  permission  of  Samuel  Gompers. 


Democracy  109 

We  are  at  war  for  those  ideals.  Our  first  big  casualty 
list  has  brought  to  every  home  the  harass  and  the  sacrifices 
of  W8ir.  This  is  only  the  beginning.  A  gigantic  struggle 
lies  just  ahead  that  will  test  to  the  uttermost  the  endur- 
ance and  the  abiUty  and  the  spirit  of  our  people.  That 
struggle  will  be  fought  out  in  the  mines,  farms,  shops,  mills, 
shipyards,  as  well  as  on  the  battlefield.  Soldiers  and 
sailors  are  helpless  if  the  producers  do  not  do  their  part. 
Every  link  in  the  chain  of  the  mobilization  of  the  fighting 
force  and  necessary  supplies  is  indispensable  in  winning 
the  war  against  mihtarism  and  principles  of  unfreedom. 

The  worker  who  fastens  the  rivets  in  building  the  ship 
is  performing  just  as  necessary  war  service  to  our  Republic 
as  the  sailor  who  takes  the  ship  across  or  the  gunner  in 
the  trenches. 

This  is  a  time  when  all  workers  must  soberly  face  the 
grave  importance  of  their  daily  work  and  decide  industrial 
matters  with  a  conscience  mindful' of  the  world  relation 
of  each  act. 

The  problem  of  production  indispensable  to  preventing 
unnecessary  slaughter  of  fellow  men  is  squarely  up  to 
all  workers,  —  aye,  to  employees  and  employers.  Pro- 
duction depends  upon  materials,  tools,  management, 
and  the  development  and  maintenance  of  industrial 
morale.  WiUing  cooperation  comes  not  only  from  doing 
justice,  but  from  receiving  justice.  The  worker  is  a 
human  being,  whose  fife  has  value  and  dignity  to  him. 
He  is  wiUing  to  sacrifice  for  an  ideal,  but  not  for  the  selfish 
gain  of  another.  Justice  begets  peace.  Consideration 
begets  cooperation.  These  conditions  are  essential  to 
war  production.     Production  is  necessary  to  win  the  war. 

Upon  the  government  and  upon  employers  falls  the 
preponderance    of    responsibility    to    securing    greatest 


110  The  American  Spirit 

efficiency  from  workers.  Standard  of  human  welfare 
and  consideration  of  the  human  side  of  production  are 
part  of  the  technique  of  efficient  production. 

Give  workers  a  decent  place  to  Hve,  protect  them 
against  conditions  which  take  all  their  wages  for  bare 
existence,  give  them  agencies  whereby  grievances  can 
be  adjusted  and  industrial  justice  assured,  make  it 
plain  that  their  labor  counts  in  the  winning  a  war  for 
greater  freedom,  not  for  private  profiteering,  and 
workers  can  be  confidently  expected  to  do  their  part. 
Workers  are  loyal.  They  want  to  do  their  share  for  the 
Republic  eind  for  winning  the  war. 

This  is  Labor's  war.  It  must  be  won  by  Labor,  and 
every  stage  in  the  fighting  and  the  final  victory  must 
be  made  to  count  for  humanity.  That  result  only  can 
justify  the  awful  sacrifice. 


HOW  DEMOCRACY  SURPASSES  MONARCHY  ^ 

Andrew  Sloan  Draper  (1848-1913) 

All  Americans  are  optimists.  There  may  be  a  few  stop- 
ping with  us  who  are  not,  —  but  they  are  not  Americans. 
The  expectations  of  the  nation  are  boundless.  We  will 
fix  no  upper  fimits.  Those  expectations  are  not  gross; 
they  are  genuine  and  sincere,  moral  and  high-minded. 
They  are  the  issue  of  a  mighty  world  movement;  the 
splendid  product  of  the  best  thinking  and  the  hardest 
struggling  for  a  thousand  years. 

1  Dr.  Draper  was   Commissioner    of   Education    for    the    state   of 
New  York  for  many  years  preceding  his  death. 
From  "The  Nation's  Educational  Purpose,"  an  official  pamphlet 
issued  by  the  National  Education  Association,  1905. 


Democracy  111 

Our  critics  say  that  we  are  boastful.  We  will  not  put 
them  to  the  trouble  of  proving  it ;  we  admit  it.  It  is  a 
matter  of  definition,  or  of  terminology.  We  have  self-con- 
fidence born  of  knowledge  and  of  accomplishment.  We 
know  something  of  the  doctrine  of  constants.  There  is 
logic  which  is  as  sure  as  the  sun.  The  nation  believes  in 
the  stars  which  are  in  the  heavens,  and  it  also  believes  in 
the  stars  which* are  upon  the  flag.  It  knows  its  history,  it 
understands  its  constituent  elements ;  it  has  definite  pur- 
poses ;  it  expects  to  go  forward ;   it  beUeves  in  itself. 

.  .  .  None  wiU  deny  now  that  the  real  growth  of  the 
nation  must  be  in  soberness,  in  coherence,  in  balance,  in 
moderation,  in  reserve  power,  in  administrative  effective- 
ness. Growth  in  numbers  is  inevitable.  Growth  in 
moral  sense  and  in  respect  for  law  must  surpass  the 
growth  in  numbers  in  order  to  cope  with  it. 

.  .  .  We  have  no  fear  of  consequences.  We  rest  our 
future  upon  the  faith  that  the  happiness  and  the  benefi- 
cent influence  of  America  must  rest  upon  the  average  of 
enlightenment,  upon  the  measure  of  serious  and  potential 
work,  and  upon  the  attendant  level  of  moral  character, 
attainable  by  all  the  men  and  women  who  live  under  our 
flag. 

The  corner-stone  principle  of  our  political  theory  coin- 
cides absolutely  with  the  fundamental  doctrine  of  our 
moral  law.  All  men  and  women  are  to  be  intellectually 
quickened  and  made  industriaUy  potential  to  the  very 
limits  of  sane  and  balanced  character.  •  The  moral  sense 
of  the  people  is  determined  by  it,  and  the  nation's  great- 
ness is  measured  by  it.  Before  this  fact  the  prerogative 
of  a  monarch  or  the  comfort  of  a  class  is  of  no  account. 
Before  it  every  other  consideration  must  give  way.  It  is 
right  here  that  democracies  that  can  hold  together  surpass 


112  The  American  Spirit 

monarchies.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  progressive  will 
of  an  intelligent  people  is  better  than  the  hereditary  and 
arbitrary  power  of  kings.  ... 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  THE  WEST  UPON 
DEMOCRACY  i 

Frederick  Jackson  Turner  (18^1-        ) 

From  the  beginning  of  the  settlement  of  America,  the" 
frontier  regions  have  exercised  a  steady  influence  toward 
democracy.  In  Virginia,  to  take  an  example,  it  can  be 
traced  as  early  as  the  period  of  Bacon's  Rebellion,  a 
hundred  years  before  our  Declaration  of  Independence. 
The  small  land-holders,  seeing  that  their  powers  were 
steadily  passing  into  the  hands  of  the  wealthy  planters 
who  controlled  Church  and  State  and  lands,  rose  in  re- 
volt. A  generation  later,  in  the  governorship  of  Alex- 
ander Spotswood,  we  find  a  contest  between  the  frontier 
settlers  and  the  property-holding  classes  of  the  coast. 
The  democracy  with  which  Spotswood  had  to  struggle, 
and  of  which  he  so  bitterly  complained,  was  a  democracy 
made  up  of  small  landholders,  of  the  newer  immigrants, 
and  of  indented  servants,  who  at  the  expiration  of  their 
time  of  servitude  passed  into  the  interior  to  take  up 
lands  and  engage  in  pioneer  farming.  The  "War  of  the 
Regulation"  just  on  the  eve  of  the  AmericEin  Revolution 
shows  the  steady  persistence  of  this  struggle  between  the 
classes  of  the  interior  and  those  of  the  coast.     The  Declara- 


^  From  an  article  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly  for  January,  1903,  entitled 
"'Contributions  of  the  West  to  American  Democracy."  (See 
"Western  Idealism,"  Section  I,  page  22.)  Used  by  permission  of 
the  author  and  of  the  Atlantic  Monthly  Company. 


Democracy  US 

tion  of  Grievances  which  the  back  counties  of  the  Caro- 
linas  then  drew  up  against  the  aristocracy  that  dominated 
the  politics  of  these  colonies  exhibits  the  contest  between 
the  democracy  of  the  frontier  and  the  estabHshed  classes 
who  apportioned  the  legislature  in  such  fashion  as  to 
secure  effective  control  of  government.  Indeed,  in  a 
period  before  the  outbreak  of  the  American  Revolution, 
one  can  trace  a  distinct  belt  of  democratic  territory 
extending  from  the  back  country  of  New  England  down 
through  western  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  the 
South.  In  each  colony  this  region  was  in  conflict  with 
the  dominant  classes  of  the  coast.  It  constituted  a 
quasi-revolutionary  area  before  the  days  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  it  formed  the  basis  on  which  the  Democratic 
Party  was  afterwards  established.  It  was,  therefore,  in 
the  West,  as  it  was  in  the  period  before  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  that  the  struggle  for  democratic  devel- 
opment first  revealed  itself,  and  in  that  area  the  essen- 
tial ideas  of  American  democracy  had  already  appeared. 
Through  the  period  of  the  Revolution  and  of  the  Con- 
federation a  similar  contest  can  be  noted.  On  the  frontier 
of  New  England,  along  the  western  border  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, Virginia,  and  the  Carolinas,  and  in  the  communities 
beyond  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  there  arose  a  demand  of 
the  frontier  settlers  for  independent  statehood  based  on 
democratic  provisions.  There  is  a  strain  of  fierceness 
in  their  energetic  petitions  demanding  self-government 
under  the  theory  that  every  people  have  the  right  to 
establish  their  own  political  institutions  in  an  area  which 
they  have  won  from  the  wilderness.  These  revolutionary 
principles  based  on  natural  rights,  for  which  the  sea- 
board colonies  were  contending,  were  taken  up  with 
frontier  energy  in  an  attempt  to  apply  them  to  the  lands 


114  The  American  Spirit 

of  the  West.  No  one  can  read  their  petitions  denouncing 
the  control  exercised  by  the  wealthy  landholders  of  the 
coast,  appealing  to  the  record  of  their  conquest  of  the 
wilderness,  and  demanding  the  possession  of  the  lands 
for  which  they  had  fought  the  Indians  and  which  they 
had  reduced  by  their  ax  to  civihzation,  without  recogniz- 
ing in  these  frontier  communities  the  cradle  of  a  belliger- 
ent Western  democracy.  "A  fool  can  sometimes  put  on 
bis  coat  better  than  a  wise  man  can  do  it  for  him,"  — 
such  is  the  philosophy  of  its  petitions.  .  .  . 

The  last  chapter  in  the  development  of  Western  de- 
mocracy is  the  one  that  deals  with  its  conquest  over  the 
vast  spaces  of  the  new  West.  At  each  new  stage  of 
Western  development  the  people  have  had  to  grapple 
with  larger  areas,  with  vaster  combinations.  The  little 
colony  of  Massachusetts  veterans  that  settled  at  Mari- 
etta received  a  land  grant  as  large  as  the  State  of  Rhode 
Island.  The  band  of  Connecticut  pioneers  that  followed 
Moses  Cleaveland  to  the  Connecticut  Reserve  occupied 
a  region  as  large  as  the  parent  State.  The  area  which 
settlers  of  New  England  stock  occupied  on  the  prairies 
of  northern  Illinois  surpassed  the  combined  area  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, Connecticut,  and  Rhode  Island.  Men  who  had 
become  accustomed  to  the  narrow  valleys  and  the  little 
towns  of  the  East  found  themselves  out  on  the  bound- 
less spaces  of  the  West  deaUng  with  units  of  such  magni- 
tude as  dwarfed  their  former  experience.  The  Great 
Lakes,  the  prairies,  the  Great  Plains,  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, the  Mississippi  and  the  Missouri,  furnished  new 
standards  of  measurement  for  the  achievement  of  this 
industrial  democracy.  Individualism  began  to  give  way 
to  cooperation  and  to  governmental  activity.  Even  in 
the  earlier  days  of  the  democratic  conquest  of  the  wilder- 


Democracy  115 

ness,  demands  had  been  made  upon  the  Government 
for  support  in  internal  improvements,  but  this  new 
West  showed  a  growing  tendency  to  call  to  its  assistance 
the  powerful  arm  of  National  authority.  In  the  period 
since  the  Civil  War,  the  vast  public  domain  has  been 
donated  to  the  individual  farmer,  to  States  for  educa- 
tion, to  railroads  for  the  construction  of  transportation 
lines.  Moreover,  with  the  advent  of  democracy  in  the 
last  fifteen  years  upon  the  Great  Plains,  new  physical 
conditions  have  presented  themselves  which  have  ac- 
celerated the  social  tendency  of  Western  democracy. 
The  pioneer  farmer  of  the  days  of  Lincoln  could  place 
his  family  on  the  flatboat,  strike  into  the  wilderness, 
cut  out  his  clearing,  and  with  httle  or  no  capital  go 
on  to  the  achievement  of  industrial  independence.  .  .  . 
But  when  the  arid  lands  and  the  mineral*  resources  of  the 
Far  West  were  reached,  no  conquest  was  possible  by 
the  old  individual  pioneer  methods.  Here  expensive 
irrigation  works  must  be  constructed,  cooperative  ac- 
tivity was  demanded  in  utilization  of  the  water  supply, 
capital  beyond  the  reach  of  the  small  farmer  was  required. 
In  a  word,  the  physiographic  province  itself  decreed  that 
the  destiny  of  this  new  frontier  should  be  social  rather 
than  individual. 


116  The  American  Spirit 

DEMOCRACY! 

James  Russell  Lowell 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  spectacle  of  a  great  and 
prosperous  Democracy  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic 
must  react  powerfully  on  the  aspirations  and  political 
theories  of  men  in  the  Old  World  who  do  not  find  things 
to  their  mind.  .  .  .  People  are  continually  saying  that 
America  is  in  the  air,  and  I  am  glad  to  think  it  is,  since 
this  means  only  that  a  clearer  conception  of  human 
claims  and  human  duties  is  beginning  to  be  prevalent. 
The  discontent  with  the  existing  order  of  things,  how- 
ever, pervaded  the  atmosphere  wherever  the  conditions 
were  favorable,  long  before  Columbus,  seeking  the  back 
door  of  Asia,  found  himself  knocking  at  the  front  door 
of  America.  I  say  wherever  the  conditions  were  favor- 
able, for  it  is  certain  that  the  germs  of  disease  do  not 
stick  or  find  a  prosperous  field  for  their  development  and 
noxious  activity  unless  where  the  simplest  sanitary  pre- 
cautions have  been  neglected.  "For  this  effect  defective 
comes  by  cause,"  as  Polonius  said  long  ago.  It  is  only 
by  instigation  of  the  wrongs  of  men  that  what  are  called 
the  Rights  of  Man  become  turbulent  and  dangerous. 
It  is  then  only  that  they  syllogize  unwelcome  truths.     It 


*  Extracts  from  inaugural  address  on  assuming  the  presidency  of  the 
Birmingham  and  Midland  Institute,  Birmingham,  England,  Octo- 
ber 6,  1884.  Mr.  Lowell  was  then  American  ambassador  to  Great 
Britain. 

From  "liiterary  and  Political  Addresses,"  in  Lowell's  Poetical 
Works  (Riverside  Edition),  Vol.  I.  Copyright,  1890,  by  James 
Russell  Lowell.  Published  by  Houghton  Mifflin  Company,  Boston. 
Used  by  permission  of  the  publishers. 


Democracy  117 

is  not  the  insurrections  of  ignorance  that  are  dangerous, 
but  the  revolts  of  inteUigence : 

The  wicked  and  the  weak  rebel  in  vain, 
Slaves  by  their  own  compulsion. 

Had  the  governing  classes  in  France  during  the  last  century 
paid  as  much  heed  to  their  proper  business  as  to  their 
pleasures  or  manners,  the  guillotine  need  never  have 
severed  that  spinal  marrow  of  orderly  and  secular  tradi- 
tion through  which  in  a  normally  constituted  state  the 
brain  sympathizes  with  the  extremities  and  sends  will  and 
impulsion  thither.  It  is  only  when  the  reasonable  and 
practicable  are  denied  that  men  demand  the  unreasonable 
and  impracticable ;  only  when  the  possible  is  made  difficult 
that  they  fancy  the  impossible  to  be  easy.  Fairy  tales 
are  made  out  of  the  dreams  of  the  poor.  No ;  the  senti- 
ment which  lies  at  the  root  of  democracy  is  nothing  new. 
I  am  speaking  always  of  a  sentiment,  a  spirit,  and  not  of 
a  form  of  government ;  for  this  was  but  the  outgrowth  of 
the  other  and  not  its  cause.  This  sentiment  is  merely  an 
expression  of  the  natural  wish  of  people  to  have  a  hand, 
if  need  be  a  controlling  hand,  in  the  management  of  their 
own  affairs.  What  is  new  is  that  they  are  more  and  more 
gaining  that  control,  and  learning  more  and  more  how  to 
be  worthy  of  it.  What  we  used  to  call  the  tendency  or 
drift  —  what  we  are  being  taught  to  call  more  wisely  the 
evolution  of  things  —  has  for  some  time  been  setting 
steadily  in  this  direction.  There  is  no  good  in  arguing 
with  the  inevitable.  The  only  argument  available  with 
an  east  wind  is  to  put  on  your  overcoat.  And  in  this  case, 
also,  the  prudent  will  prepare  themselves  to  encounter  what 
they  cannot  prevent.  Some  people  advise  us  to  put  on 
the  brakes,  as  if  the  movement  of  which  we  are  conscious 


118  The  American  Spirit 

were  that  of  a  railway  train  running  down  an  incline.  But 
a  metaphor  is  no  argument,  though  it  be  sometimes  the 
gunpowder  to  drive  one  home  and  imbed  it  in  the  memory. 
Our  disquiet  comes  of  what  nurses  and  other  experienced 
persons  call  growing-pains,  and  need  not  seriously  alarm 
us.  They  are  what  every  generation  before  us  —  cer- 
tainly every  generation  since  the  invention  of  printing  — 
has  gone  through  with  more  or  less  good  fortune.  To  the 
door  of  every  generation  there  comes  a  knocking,  and 
unless  the  household,  like  the  Than^e  of  Cawdor  and  his 
wife,^  have  been  doing  some  deed  without  a  name,  they 
need  not  shudder.  It  turns  out  at  worst  to  be  a  poor 
relation  who  wishes  to  come  in  out  of  the  cold.  The 
porter  always  grumbles  and  is  slow  to  open.  "Who's 
there,  in  the  name  of  Beelzebub  .^^ "  he  mutters.  Not  a 
change  for  the  better  in  our  human  housekeeping  has  ever 
taken  place  that  wise  and  good  men  have  not  opposed  it, 
—  have  not  prophesied  with  the  alderman  that  the  world 
would  wake  up  to  find  its  throat  cut  in  consequence  of  it. 
The  world,  on  the  contrary,  wakes  up,  rubs  its  eyes,  yawns, 
stretches  itself,  and  goes  about  its  business  as  if  nothing 
had  happened.  Suppression  of  the  slave  trade,  abolition 
of  slavery,  trade  unions,  —  at  all  of  these  excellent  people 
shook  their  heads  despondingly,  and  murmured  "  Ichabod.'* 
But  the  trade  unions  are  now  debating  instead  of  conspir- 
ing, and  we  all  read  their  discussions  with  comfort  and 
hope,  sure  that  they  are  learning  the  business  of  citizenship 
and  the  difficulties  of  practical  legislation.  .  .  . 

We  hear  it  said  sometimes  that  this  is  an  age  of  tran- 
sition, as  if  that  made  matters  clearer ;  but  can  any  one 
point  us  to  an  age  that  was  not  ?     If  he  could,  he  would 

1  A  reference  to  Macbeth  and  his  wife,  of  Shakespeare's  tragedy, 
who  had  murdered  their  king. 


Democracy  119 

show  us  an  age  of  stagnation.  The  question  for  us,  as  it 
has  been  for  all  before  us,  is  to  make  the  transition  gradual 
and  easy,  to  see  that  our  points  are  right  so  that  the  train 
may  not  come  to  grief.  For  we  should  remember  that 
nothing  is  more  natural  for  people  whose  education  has 
been  neglected  than  to  spell  evolution  with  an  initial  "r." 
A  great  man  struggling  with  the  storms  of  fate  has  been 
called  a  subhme  spectacle;  but  surely  a  great  man 
wrestling  with  these  new  forces  that  have  come  into  the 
world,  mastering  them  and  controUing  them  to  beneficent 
ends,  would  be  a  yet  sublimer.  Here  is  not  a  danger,  and 
if  there  were  it  would  be  only  a  better  school  of  manhood, 
a  nobler  scope  for  ambition.  I  have  hinted  that  what 
people  are  afraid  of  in  democracy  is  less  the  thing  itself 
than  what  they  conceive  to  be  its  necessary  adjuncts  and 
consequences.  It  is  supposed  to  reduce  all  mankind  to  a 
dead  level  of  mediocrity  in  character  and  culture,  to  vul- 
garize men's  conceptions  of  life,  and  therefore  their  code 
of  morals,  manners,  and  conduct  —  to  endanger  the  rights 
of  property  and  possession.  But  I  believe  that  the  real 
gravamen  of  the  charges  hes  in  the  habit  it  has  of  making 
itself  generally  disagreeable  by  asking  the  Powers  that  Be 
at  the  most  inconvenient  moment  whether  they  are  the 
powers  that  ought  to  be.  If  the  powers  that  be  are  in  a 
condition  to  give  a  satisfactory  answer  to  this  inevitable 
question,  they  need  feel  in  no  way  discomfited  by  it. 

Few  people  take  the  trouble  of  trying  to  find  out  what 
democracy  really  is.  Yet  this  would  be  a  great  help,  for 
it  is  our  lawless  and  uncertain  thoughts,  it  is  the  indefinite- 
ness  of  our  impressions^  that  fill  darkness,  whether  mental 
or  physical,  with  specters  and  hobgobfins.  Democracy 
is  nothing  more  than  an  experiment  in  government,  more 
likely  to  succeed  in  a  new  soil,  but  likely  to  be  tried  in  all 


120  The  American  Spirit 

soils,  which  must  stand  or  fall  on  its  own  merits  as  others 
have  done  before  it.  For  there  is  no  trick  of  perpetual 
motion  in  politics  any  more  than  in  mechanics.  President 
Lincoln  defined  democracy  to  be  "the  government  of  the 
people  by  the  people  for  the  people."  This  is  a  sufficiently 
compact  statement  of  it  as  a  political  £U'rangement. 
Theodore  Parker  said  that  "Democracy  meant  not  'I'm 
as  good  as  you  are,'  but  'You're  as  good  as  I  am.'"  And 
this  is  the  ethical  conception  of  it,  necessary  as  a  comple- 
ment of  the  other ;  a  conception  which,  could  it  be  made 
actual  and  practical,  would  easily  solve  all  the  riddles 
that  the  old  sphinx  of  political  and  social  economy  who 
sits  by  the  roadside  has  been  proposing  to  mankind  from 
the  beginning,  and  which  mankind  have  shown  such  a 
singular  talent  for  answering  wrongly.  In  this  sense 
Christ  was  the  first  true  democrat  that  ever  breathed,  as 
the  old  dramatist  Dekker  said  he  was  the  first  true  gentle- 
man. The  characters  may  be  easily  doubled,  so  strong 
is  the  likeness  between  them.  .  .  . 

All  free  governments,  whatever  their  name,  are  in  reality 
governments  by  public  opinion,  and  it  is  on  the  quahty  of 
his  public  opinion  that  their  prosperity  depends.  It  is, 
therefore,  their  first  duty  to  purify  the  element  from  which 
they  draw  the  breath  of  fife.  With  the  growth  of  democ- 
racy grows  also  the  fear,  if  not  the  danger,  that  this  at- 
mosphere may  be  corrupted  with  poisonous  exhalations 
from  lower  and  more  malarious  levels,  and  the  question 
of  sanitation  becomes  more  instant  and  pressing.  De- 
mocracy in  its  best  sense  is  merely  the  letting  in  of  light 
and  air.  Lord  Sherbrooke,  with  his  usual  epigramrnatic 
terseness,  bids  you  educate  your  future  rulers.  But  would 
this  alone  be  a  sufficient  safeguard.^  To  educate  the  in- 
telligence is  to  enlarge  the  horizon  of  its  desires  and  wants. 


Democracy  121 

And  it  is  well  that  this  should  be  so.  But  the  enterprise 
must  go  deeper  and  prepare  the  way  for  satisfying  those 
desires  and  wants  in  so  far  as  they  are  legitimate.  What 
is  really  ominous  of  danger  to  the  existing  order  of  things 
is  not  democracy  (which,  properly  understood,  is  a  con- 
servative force),  but  the  Socialism  which  may  find  a  ful- 
crum in  it.  If  we  cannot  equahze  conditions  and  fortunes 
any  more  than  we  can  equalize  the  brains  of  men  —  and 
a  very  sagacious  person  has  said  that  "where  two  men 
ride  on  a  horse  one  must  ride  behind"  —  we  can  yet, 
perhaps,  do  something  to  correct  those  methods  and  in- 
fluences that  lead  to  enormous  inequalities,  and  to  prevent 
their  growing  more  enormous.  .  .  . 

I  do  not  beUeve  in  violent  changes,  nor  do  I  expect  them. 
Things  in  possession  have  a  very  firm  grip.  One  of  the 
strongest  cements  of  society  is  the  conviction  of  mankind 
that  the  state  of  things  into  which  they  are  born  is  a  part 
of  the  order  of  the  universe,  as  natural,  let  us  say,  as  that 
the  sun  should  go  round  the  earth.  It  is  a  conviction  that 
they  will  not  surrender  except  on  compulsion,  and  a  wise 
society  should  look  to  it  that  this  compulsion  be  not  put 
upon  them.  For  the  individual  man  there  is  no  radical 
cure,  outside  of  human  nature  itself,  for  the  evils  to  which 
human  nature  is  heir.  The  rule  will  always  hold  good 
that  you  must 

Be  your  own  palace  or  the  world's  your  jail. 

But  for  artificial  evils,  for  evils  that  spring  from  want  of 
thought,  thought  must  find  a  remedy  somewhere.  There 
has  been  no  period  of  time  in  which  wealth  has  been  more 
sensible  of  its  duties  than  now.  It  builds  hospitals,  it 
establishes  missions  among  the  poor,  it  endows  schools. 
It  is  one  of  the  advantages  of  accumulated  wealth,  and  of 


122  The  American  Spirit 

the  leisure  it  renders  possible,  that  people  have  time  to 
think  of  the  wants  and  sorrows  of  their  fellows.  But  all 
these  remedies  are  partial  and  palUative  merely.  It  is  as 
if  we  should  apply  plasters  to  a  single  pustule  of  the  small- 
pox with  a  view  of  driving  out  the  disease.  The  true  way 
is  to  discover  and  to  extirpate  the  germs.  As  society  is 
now  constituted  these  are  in  the  air  it  breathes,  in  the  water 
it  drinks,  in  things  that  seem,  and  which  it  has  always 
believed,  to  be  the  most  innocent  and  healthful.  The  evil 
element  it  neglects  corrupt  these  in  their  springs  and  pol- 
lute them  in  their  courses.  Let  us  be  of  good  cheer,  how- 
ever, remembering  that  the  misfortunes  hardest  to  bear 
are  those  which  never  come.  The  world  has  outhved 
much,  and  will  outlive  a  great  deal  more,  and  men  have 
contrived  to  be  happy  in  it.  It  has  showli  the  strength 
of  its  constitution  in  nothing  more  than  in  surviving  the 
quack  medicines  it  has  tried.  In  the  scales  of  the  destinies 
brawn  wiU  never  weigh  so  much  as  brain.  Our  healing  is 
not  in  the  storm  or  in  the  whirlwind,  it  is  not  in  monarchies, 
or  aristocracies,  or  democracies,  but  will  be  revealed  by 
the  still  small  voice  that  speaks  to  the  conscience  and 
the  heart,  prompting  us  to  a  wider  and  wiser  humanity. 


i 

I 

V.    DEMOCRACY  AND  LIFE  \ 


A  MAN'S  A  MAN  FOR  A'  THAT^  ! 

Robert  Burns  (1759-1796)  : 

1 

Is  there  for  honest  poverty  1 

That  hings  his  head,  an'  a'  that  ?  ^ 

The  coward  slave,  we  pass  him  by,  —  I 

We  dare  be  poor  for  a'  that  I  ' 

For  a'  that,  an'  a'  that,  J 

Our  toils  obscure,  an'  a'  that,  j 

The  rank  is  but  the  guinea's  ^  stamp, 

The  man's  the  gowd  ^  for  a'  that.  i 

What  though  on  hamely  fare  we  dine, 

Wear  hodden  gray  an'  a'  that  ?  ] 

Gie  fools  their  silks,  and  knaves  their  wine  —  1 

A  man's  a  man  for  a'  that.  | 

For  a'  that,  an'  a'  that,  \ 

Their  tinsel  show,  an'  a'  that :  ) 

The  honest  man,  tho'  e'er  sae  poor,  ; 

Is  king  o'  men  for  a'  that.  i 

1  The  largest  element  in  the  population  of  colonial  America,  next  ^ 
to  that  of  the  Enghsh,  was  that  contributed  by  the  Scotch  and  ; 
Scotch-Irish.  Driven  from  home  by  economic  pressure  and  political  ^ 
oppression,  these  people  were  scattered  throughout  all  the  colonies  ' 
and  took  a  notable  part  in  the  Revolution.  The  democratic  senti- 
ment to  which  they  were  ardently  devoted  was  nowhere  better  ; 
expressed  than  in  this  the  best-known  poem  of  their  beloved  bard.  1 
It  thus  constitutes  in  a  true  and  peculiar  way  an  expression  of  the  i 
American  spirit.  . 
From  "The  Edinburgh  Book  of  Scottish  Verse,"  published  by  1 
Meiklejohn  and  Holden,  London,  1910.  \ 

«  An  English  gold  piece  worth  about  $5.00. 

•Gold.  ■ 

123  j 


124  The  American  Spirit 

Ye  see  yon  birkie,  ca'd  "  a  lord," 

Wha  struts  an'  stares,  an'  a'  that  ? 
Tho'  hundreds  worship  at  his  word. 
He's  but  a  cuif  for  a'  that. 
For  a'  that,  an'  a'  that. 

His  riband,  star,^  an'  a'  that, 
The  man  o'  independent  mind. 
He  looks  an'  laughs  at  a'  that. 

A  prince  can  mak'  a  belted  knight, 

A  marquis,  duke,  an'  a'  that  I 
But  an  honest  man's  aboon  ^  his  might,  — 
Guid  faith,  he  mauna  fa'  that  I 
For  a'  that,  an'  a'  that, 

Their  dignities  an'  a'  that, 
The  pith  o'  sense,  an'  pride  o'  worth, 
Are  higher  rank  than  a'  that. 

Then  let  us  pray  that  come  it  may, 

(As  come  it  will  for  a'  that) 
That  Sense  and  Worth,  o'er  a'  the  earth, 
Shall  bear  the  gree,^  an'  a'  that. 
For  a'  that,  an'  a'  that. 

It's  comin'  yet,  for  a'  that. 
That  man  to  man,  the  world  o'er, 
Shall  brithers  be  for  a'  that. 

*  Reference  to  the  badges  of  the  various  orders  of  nobiUty. 

*  Above. 

*  Win  the  honor  or  a  prize,  a  phrase  from  the  language  of  chivalry. 


Democracy  and  Life  125 

THE  DEMOCRATIC  IDEAL  OF  LABORS 

Orville  Dewey  (1794-1882) 

Ashamed  to  toil  art  thou?  Ashamed  of  thy  dingy 
workshop  and  dusty  labor  field ;  of  thy  hard  hand,  scarred 
with  service  more  honorable  than  that  of  war;  of  thy 
soiled  and  weather-stained  geirments,  on  which  Mother 
Nature  has  stamped,  'midst  sun  and  rain,  'midst  fire 
and  steam,  her  own  heraldic  honors  ?  Ashamed  of  these 
tokens  and  titles,  and  envious  of  the  flaunting  robes  of 
imbecile  idleness  and  vanity?  It  is  treason  to  Nature; 
it  is  impiety  to  Heaven ;  it  is  breaking  Heaven's  great 
ordinance.  Toil,  I  repeat  —  toil,  either  of  the  brain, 
of  the  heart,  or  of  the  hand,  is  the  only  true  manhood, 
the  only  true  nobility  I 

WORK  2 

Thomas  Carlyle  (1795-1881) 

There  Is  a  perennial  nobleness,  and  even  sacredness, 
in  Work.  Were  he  never  so  benighted,  forgetful  of  his 
high  calling,  there  is  always  hope  in  a  man  that  actually 

1  From    "The    Arts    of    Industry,"  in  Works  of   Orville   Dewey, 
published  by  Charles  S.  Francis,  1861. 

*  Carlyle  was  a  Scottish  essayist  and  a  critic  representing  the 
democratic  extreme  of  the  Victorian  literary  group.  His  rugged 
character,  matched  by  his  rugged  style,  was  quite  at  variance  with 
the  ideals  dominant  at  the  time,  but  both  in  his  criticisms  and  in 
his  constructive  suggestions  he  was  the  most  forceful  preacher  of 
the  spirit  of  democratic  realism  which,  during  the  period  of  his 
literary  activities,  was  most  rapidly  developing  in  America. 
From  chapter  on  "Labor"  in  "Past  and  Present."  Thomas 
Carlyle's  Collected  Works,  Vol.  XIII.  Published  by  Chapman  and 
Hall,  London,  1843. 


126  The  American  Spirit 

and  earnestly  works ;  in  Idleness  alone  is  there  perpetual 
despair.  Work,  never  so  mammonish,  is  in  communication 
with  Nature ;  the  real  desire  to  get  Work  done  will  itself 
lead  one  more  and  more  to  truth,  to  Nature's  appoint- 
ments and  regulations,  which  are  truth.  .  .  . 

It  has  been  written,  *'an  endless  significance  lies  in 
Work,"  a  man  perfects  himself  by  working.  Foul  jun- 
gles are  cleared  away,  fair  seedfields  rise  instead,  and 
stately  cities;  and  withal  the  man  himself  first  ceases 
to  bo  jungle  and  foul,  unwholesome  desert  thereby. 
Consider  how,  even  in  the  meanest  sorts  of  Labor,  the 
whole  soul  of  a  man  is  composed  into  a  kind  of  real  har- 
mony the  instant  he  sets  himself  to  work !  Doubt,  Desire, 
Sorrow,  Remorse,  Indignation,  Despair  itself,  all  these 
like  hell-dogs  lie  beleaguering  the  soul  of  the  poor  day- 
worker  as  of  every  man :  but  he  bends  himself  with  free 
valor  against  his  task,  and  all  these  are  stilled,  all  these 
shrink  murmuring  far  off  into  their  caves.  The  man  is 
now  a  man.  The  blessed  glow  of  Labor  in  him,  is  it 
not  as  purifying  fire,  wherein  all  poison  is  burnt  up,  and 
of  sour  smoke  itself  there  is  made  bright,  blessed  flame ! 

Destiny,  on  the  whole,  has  no  other  way  of  cultivating 
us.  A  formless  Chaos,  once  set  it  revolving,  grows  round 
and  even  rounder ;  ranges  itself,  by  mere  force  of  gravity, 
into  strata,  spherical  courses ;  is  no  longer  a  Chaos,  but 
a  round,  compacted  World.  What  would  become  of 
the  Earth,  did  she  cease  to  revolve  ?  In  the  poor  old 
Earth,  so  long  as  she  revolves,  all  inequalities,  irregulari- 
ties, disperse  themselves ;  all  irregularities  are  incessantly 
becoming  regular.  Hast  thou  looked  on  the  Potter *s 
wheel,  — one  of  the  venerablest  objects ;  old  as  the  prophet 
Ezechiel,  and  far  older?  Rude  lumps  of  clay,  how  they 
spin  themselves  up,  by  mere  quick  whirling,  into  beau- 


Democracy  and  Life  127 

tiful  circular  dishes  I  And  fancy  the  most  assiduous 
Potter,  but  without  his  wheel ;  reduced  to  make  dishes 
or  rather  amorphous  botches,  by  mere  kneading  and 
baking !  Even  such  a  potter  were  Destiny,  with  a  human 
soul  that  would  rest  and  lie  at  ease,  that  would  not  work 
and  spin !  Of  an  idle,  unrevolving  m£in  the  kindest 
Destiny,  like  the  most  assiduous  Potter  without  wheel, 
can  bake  and  knead  nothing  other  than  a  botch ;  let  her 
spend  on  him  what  expensive  coloring,  what  gilding  and 
enamehng  she  will,  he  is  but  a  botch.  Not  a  dish ;  no, 
a  bulging,  kneaded,  crooked,  shambhng,  squint-cornered, 
amorphous  botch,  —  a  mere  enameled  vessel  of  dishonor  1 
Let  the  idle  think  of  this. 

Blessed  is  he  who  has  found  his  work ;  let  him  ask  no 
other  blessedness.  He  has  a  work,  a  hfe-purpose;  he 
has  found  it,  and  will  follow  it !  How  as  a  free-flowing 
channel  dug  and  torn  by  noble  force  through  the  sour 
mud-swamp  of  one's  existence,  like  an  ever  deepening 
river  there,  it  runs  and  flows;  —  draining  off  the  sour 
water  graduaUy  from  the  root  of  the  remotest  grass 
blade;  making,  instead  of  pestilential  swamp,  a  green, 
fruitful  meadow  with  its  clear-flowing  stream.  How 
blessed  for  the  meadow  itself,  let  the  stream  and  its 
value  be  great  or  small !  Labor  is  life ;  from  the  inmost 
heart  of  the  Worker  rises  his  God-given  force,  the  sacred 
celestial  Life-essence,  breathed  into  him  by  Almighty 
God ;  from  his  inmost  heart  awakens  him  to  aU  nobleness, 
to  all  knowledge,  "self-knowledge,"  and  much  else,  so 
soon  as  Work  fitly  begins. 


128  The  American  Spirit 

ARISTOKRATS  ^ 
Josh  Billings  (Henry  W.  Shaw)  (1818-1885) 

Natur  furnishes  all  the  noblemen  we  hav.  Pedigree 
haz  no  more  to  do  in  making  a  man  aktually  grater  than 
he  iz,  than  a  pekok's  feather  in  his  hat  haz  in  making 
him  aktually  taller. 

This  iz  a  hard  phakt  for  some  tew  learn. 

This  mundane  earth  iz  thik  with  folks  who  think  they 
are  grate,  bekauze  their  ansesstor  waz  luckey  in  the  sope 
or  tobacco  trade ;  and  altho  the  sope  haz  run  out  some 
time  since,  they  try  tew  phool  themselves  and  other 
folks  with  the  suds. 

Sopesuds  iz  a  prekarious  bubble.  Thare  aint  nothing 
so  thin  on  the  ribs  az  a  sopesuds  aristokrat. 

Titles  aint  ov  enny  more  real  use  or  necessity  than  dog 
collars  are.  I  hav  seen  dog  collars  that  kost  3  dollars 
on  dogs  that  want  worth  in  enny  market  over  87^  cents. 
This  iz  a  grate  waste  ov  collar  and  a  grate  damage  tew 
the  dog. 

Raizing  aristokrats  iz  a  dredful  poor  bizzness;  yu 
don't  never  git  your  seed  back.  One  demokrat  iz  worth 
more  tew  the  world  than  60  thousand  manufaktured 
aristokrats. 

An  Amerikan  aristokrat  iz  the  most  ridiclus  thing 
in  the  market.  They  are  generally  ashamed  ov  their 
ansesstors;    and,  if  they  hav  enny,  and  Uve  long  enuff, 

*  Mr.  Shaw  was  a  popular  humorist  whose  humor  consisted  partly 
in  the  use  of  phonetic  spelling  and  partly  in  the  wit  and  common 
sense  of  the  illiterate  man. 

Used  by  permission  of  M.  A.  Donahue  &  Co.,  Chicago,  Illinois, 
pubhshers  and  owners  of  the  complete  copyright  works  of  Josh 
Bilhngs. 


Democracy  and  Life  129 

they  generally  hav  cauze  tew  be  ashamed  ov  their  pos- 
terity. 

I  kno  ov  several  familys  in  Amerika  who  are  tryng  tew 
Hv  on  their  aristokrasy.  The  money  and  brains  giv 
out  sum  time  ago.     It  iz  hard  skratching  for  them. 

Yu  kan  warm  up  kold  potatos  and  liv  on  them,  but 
yu  kant  warm  up  aristokratik  pride  and  git  even  a  smell. 


THE  HOMES  OF  THE  PEOPLE  ^ 

Henry  W.  Grady  (1851-1889) 

A  few  days  later  I  visited  a  country  home.  A  modest 
quiet  house  sheltered  by  great  trees  and  set  in  a  circle  of 
field  and  meadow,  gracious  with  the  promise  of  harvest; 
barns  and  cribs  well  filled  and  the  old  smokehouse  odor- 
ous with  treasure ;  the  fragrance  of  pink  and  hollyhock 
mingling  with  the  aroma  of  garden  and  orchard,  and 
resonant  with  the  hum  of  bees  and  poultry's  busy  clucking ; 
inside  the  house,  thrift,  comfort,  and  that  cleanHness  that 
is  next  to  godliness  —  the  restful  beds,  the  open  fireplace, 
the  books  and  papers,  and  the  old  clock  that  had  held  its 
steadfast  pace  amid  the  frolic  of  weddings,  that  had  wel- 
comed in  steady  measure  the  newborn  babes  of  the  family 
and  kept  company  with  the  watchers  of  the  sick  bed,  and 
had  ticked  the  solemn  requiem  of  the  dead ;  and  the  well- 
worn  Bible  that,  thumbed  by  fingers  long  since  stiUed,  and 
blurred  with  tears  of  eyes  long  since  closed,  held  the  simple 

*  An  American  journalist  and  orator,  for  many  years  editor  of  the 
Atlanta  Constitution,  Mr.  Grad>  did  much  to  reestablish  under- 
standing and  good  will  between  the  North  and  the  South. 
From  a  speech,  "The  Farmer  and  the  Cities,"  in  Orations  and 
Speeches  of  Henry  W.  Grady.  Copyright,  1910,  by  Edwin  Du 
Bois  Shurter.     Used  by  permission  of  the  publisher. 


130  The  American  Spirit 

annals  of  the  family,  and  the  heart  and  conscience  of  the 
home.  Outside  stood  the  master,  strong  and  wholesome 
and  upright ;  wearing  no  man's  collar  ;  with  no  mortgage 
on  his  roof,  and  no  Hen  on  his  ripening  harvest ;  pitching 
his  crops  in  his  own  wisdom  and  selhng  them  in  his  own 
time  in  his  chosen  market ;  master  of  his  lands  and  master 
of  himself.  Near  by  stood  his  aged  father,  happy  in  the 
heart  and  home  of  his  son.  And  as  they  steu-ted  to  the 
house,  the  old  man's  hands  rested  on  the  young  man's 
shoulder,  touching  it  with  the  knighthood  of  the  fourth 
commandment,  and  laying  there  the  unspeakable  blessing 
of  an  honored  and  grateful  father.  As  they  drew  near 
the  door,  the  old  mother  appeared ;  the  sunset  falling  on 
her  face,  softening  its  wrinkles  and  its  tenderness,  hghting 
up  her  patient  eyes,  and  the  rich  music  of  her  heart  trem- 
bling on  her  lips,  as  in  simple  phrase  she  welcomed  her 
husband  and  son  to  their  home.  Beyond  was  the  good 
wife,  true  of  touch  and  tender,  happy  amid  her  household 
cares,  clean  of  heart  and  conscience,  the  helpmate  and  the 
buckler  of  her  husband.  And  the  children,  strong  and 
sturdy,  trooping  down  the  lane  with  the  lowing  herd,  or, 
weary  of  simple  sport,  seeking,  as  truant  birds  do,  the 
quiet  of  the  old  home  nest.  And  I  saw  the  night  descend 
on  that  home,  falling  gently  as  from  the  wings  of  the 
unseen  dove.  And  the  stars  swarmed  in  the  bending 
skies ;  the  trees  thrilled  with  the  cricket's  cry ;  the  rest- 
less bird  called  from  the  neighboring  wood;  and  the 
father,  a  simple  man  of  God,  gathering  the  family  about 
him,  read  from  the  Bible  the  old,  old  story  of  love  and 
faith,  and  then  went  down  in  prayer,  the  baby  hidden 
amid  the  folds  of  its  mother's  dress,  and  closed  the  record 
of  that  simple  day  by  calling  down  the  benediction  of 
God  on  the  family  and  the  home  I 


Democracy  and  Life  131 

And  as  I  gazed,  the  memory  of  the  great  Capitol  faded 
from  my  brain.  Forgotten  its  treasure  and  its  splendor. 
And  I  said,  "Surely  here  —  here  in  the  homes  of  the 
people  is  lodged  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  my  country. 
Here  is  its  majesty  and  its  strength.  Here  the  beginning 
of  its  power  and  the  end  of  its  responsibiHty."  The  homes 
of  the  people ;  let  us  keep  them  pure  and  independent, 
and  all  will  be  well  with  the  Republic.  Here  is  the  lesson 
our  foes  may  learn  —  here  is  work  the  humblest  and  weak- 
est hands  may  do.  Let  us  in  simple  thrift  and  economy 
make  our  homes  independent.  Let  us  in  frugal  industry 
make  them  self-sustaining.  In  sacrifice  and  denial  let  us 
keep  them  free  from  debt  and  obligation.  Let  us  make 
them  homes  of  refinement  in  which  we  shall  teach  our 
daughters  that  modesty  and  patience  and  gentleness  are 
the  charms  of  woman.  Let  us  make  them  temples  of  hb- 
erty,  and  teach  our  sons  that  an  honest  conscience  is  every 
man's  first  poHtical  law ;  that  his  sovereignty  rests  beneath 
his  hat,  and  that  no  splendor  can  rob  him  and  no  force 
justify  the  surrender  of  the  simplest  right  of  a  free  and  in- 
dependent citizen.  And  above  all,  let  us  honor  God  in 
our  avocations  —  anchor  them  close  in  His  love.  Build 
His  altars  above  our  hearthstones,  uphold  them  in  the  set 
and  simple  faith  of  our  fathers,  and  crown  them  with  the 
Bible  —  that  book  of  books  in  which  all  the  ways  of  life 
are  made  straight  and  the  mystery  of  death  is  made 
plain.  The  home  is  the  source  of  our  national  Ufe.  Back 
of  the  national  Capitol  and  above  it  stands  the  home. 
Back  of  the  President  and  above  him  stands  the  citizen. 
What  the  home  is,  this  and  nothing  else  will  the  Capitol 
be.  What  the  citizen  wills,  this  and  nothing  else  will 
the  President  be. 


132                      The  American  Spirit  ! 

OUR  KIND  OF  A  MAN  ^  | 

James  Whitcomb  Riley  (1853-1917)  ' 

The  kind  of  a  man  for  you  and  me !  • 

He  faces  the  world  unflinchingly,  \ 

And  smites,  as  long  as  the  wrong  resists, 

With  a  knuckled  faith  and  force  hke  fists :  i 

He  lives  the  Hfe  he  is  preaching  of,  | 

And  loves  where  most  is  the  need  of  love ;  \ 

His  voice  is  clear  to  the  deaf  man's  ears. 

And  his  face  sublime  through  the  blind  man's  tears ;  i 

The  Ught  shines  out  where  the  clouds  were  dim,  - 

And  the  widow's  prayer  goes  up  for  him ; 

The  latch  is  clicked  at  the  hovel  door,  ; 

And  the  sick  man  sees  the  sun  once  more, 

And  out  o'er  the  barren  fields  he  sees  \ 

Springing' blossoms  and  waving  trees,  i 

Feehng,  as  only  the  dying  may,  ] 

That  God's  own  servant  has  come  that  way, 

Smoothing  the  path  as  it  still  winds  on  j 

Through  the  golden  gate  where  his  loved  have  gone. 

The  kind  of  a  man  for  me  and  you  ! 

However  Httle  of  worth  we  do  ■ 

He  credits  full,  and  abides  in  trust  ] 

That  time  wiU  teach  us  how  more  is  just.  • 

He  walks  abroad,  and  he  meets  all  kinds  j 

Of  querulous  and  uneasy  minds, 

1  This  poem  is  included  as  picturing  a  fine  type  of  American  and  I 

showing  also  the   Indiana  poet's  characteristic  faith  in  human  i 

nature.  ! 

From  the  Biographical  Edition  of  the  Complete  Works  of  James  j 

Whitcomb  Riley.     Copyright,  1913.     Used  by  special  permission  1 

of  the  pubUshers,  The  Bobbs-Merrill  Company,  Indianapolis.  ■ 


Democracy  and  Life 

And,  sympathizing,  he  shares  the  pain 

Of  the  doubts  that  rack  us,  heart  and  brain ; 

And,  knowing  this,  as  we  grasp  his  hand, 

We  are  surely  coming  to  understand  I 

He  looks  on  sin  with  pitying  eyes  — 

E'en  as  the  Lord,  since  Paradise,  — 

Else,  should  we  read.  Though  our  sins  should  glow 

As  scarlet,  they  shall  be  white  as  snow  ? 

And,  feehng  still,  with  a  grief  half  glad. 

That  the  bad  are  as  good  as  the  good  are  bad. 

He  strikes  straight  out  for  the  Right  —  and  he 

Is  the  kind  of  a  man  for  you  and  me  1 


A  MESSAGE  TO  GARCIA  ^ 
Elbert  Hubbard  (1859-1915) 

.  .  .  When  war  broke  out  between  Spain  and  the  United 
States,  it  was  very  necessary  to  communicate  quickly 
with  the  leader  of  the  Insurgents.  Garcia  was  some- 
where in  the  mountain  fastnesses  of  Cuba  —  no  one 
knew  where.  No  mail  nor  telegraph  message  could  reach 
him.  The  President  must  secure  his  cooperation,  and 
quickly. 

What  to  do  I 

Some  one  said  to  the  President,  *' There  is  a  fellow  by 
the  name  of  Rowan  will  find  Garcia  for  you,  if  anybody 
can." 

Rowan  was  sent  for  and  given  a  letter  to  be  delivered 
to  Garcia. 

^  From  booklet  entitled  "A  Message  to  Garcia,"  published  by 
The  Roycroft  Press.  Copyright,  1899,  by  Elbert  Hubbard.  Used 
by  permission  of  the  publishers. 


134  The  American  Spirit 

How  the  "fellow  by  the  name  of  Rowan"  took 
the  letter,  sealed  it  up  in  an  oilskin  pouch,  strapped 
it  over  his  heart,  in  four  days  landed  by  night  off  the 
coast  of  Cuba  from  an  open  boat,  disappeared  into  the 
jungle,  and  in  three  weeks  came  out  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Island,  having  traversed  a  hostile  country  on  foot, 
and  delivered  his  letter  to  Garcia  —  are  things  I  have  no 
special  desire  now  to  tell  in  detail. 

The  point  that  I  wish  to  make  is  this :  McKinley  gave 
Rowan  a  letter  to  be  delivered  to  Garcia;  Rowan  took 
the  letter  and  did  not  ask,  "Where  is  he  at?" 

By  the  Eternal !  there  is  a  man  whose  form  should  be 
cast  in  deathless  bronze  and  the  statue  placed  in  every 
college  of  the  land.  It  is  not  book  learning  young  men 
need,  nor  instruction  about  this  and  that,  but  a  stiffening 
of  the  vertebrae  which  will  cause  them  to  be  loyal  to  a 
trust,  to  act  promptly,  concentrate  their  energies :  do  the 
thing —  '*^Carry  a  message  to  Garcia." 

General  Garcia  is  dead  now,  but  there  are  other  Garcias. 
No  man  who  has  endeavored  to  carry  out  an  enter- 
prise where  many  hands  were  needed,  but  has  been  well- 
nigh  appalled  at  times  by  the  imbecility  of  the  average 
man  —  the  inability  or  unwillingness  to  concentrate  on 
a  thing  and  do  it. 

Slipshod  assistance,  foolish  inattention,  dowdy  indif- 
ference, and  half-hearted  work  seem  the  rule ;  and  no 
man  succeeds,  unless  by  hook  or  crook  or  threat,  he  forces 
or  bribes  other  men  to  assist  him ;  or  mayhap,  God  in 
His  goodness  performs  a  miracle,  and  sends  him  an 
Angel  of  Light  for  an  assistant. 

You,  reader,  put  this  matter  to  a  test :  You  are  sitting 
now  in  your  office  —  six  clerks  are  within  call.  Summon 
any  one  and  make  this  request:    "Please  look  in   the 


Democracy  and  Life  135 

encyclopedia  and  make  a  brief  memorandum  for  me 
concerning  the  life  of  Correggio."^ 

Will  the  clerk  quietly  say,  "Yes,  sir,"  and  go  do  the 
task? 

On  your  life  he  will  not.  He  will  look  at  you  out  of  a 
fishy  eye  and  ask  one  or  more  of  the  following  questions : 

Who  was  he  ? 

Which  encyclopedia  ? 

Where  is  the  encyclopedia  ? 

Was  I  hired  for  that  ? 

Don't  you  mean  Bismarck  ? 

What's  the  matter  with  Charlie  doing  it  ? 

Is  he  dead  ? 

Is  there  any  hurry  ? 

Shan't  I  bring  you  the  book  and  let  you  look  it  up 
yourself? 

What  do  you  want  to  know  for  ? 

And  I  will  lay  you  ten  to  one  that  after  you  have 
answered  the  questions,  and  explained  how  to  find  the 
information,  and  why  you  want  it,  the  clerk  will  go  off  and 
get  one  of  the  other  clerks  to  help  him  try  to  find  Garcia  — 
and  then  come  back  and  tell  you  there  is  no  such  man. 
Of  course  I  may  lose  my  bet,  but  according  to  the  Law 
of  Average  I  will  not. 

Now  if  you  are  wise,  you  will  not  bother  to  explain  to 
yoiu"  "assistant"  that  Correggio  is  indexed  under  the  C's, 
not  in  the  K's,  but  you  will  smile  sweetly  and  say,  "Never 
mind,"  and  go  look  it  up  yourself.  And  this  incapacity 
for  independent  action,  this  moral  stupidity,  this  infirmity 
of  the  will,  this  unwilhngness  to  cheerfully  catch  hold  and 
lift  —  these  are  the  things  that  put  pure  Socialism  so  far 

*  A  noted  Italian  painter  of  the  Lombard  school,  who  hved  from 
1494  to  1534. 


136  The  American  Spirit 

into  the  future.  If  men  will  not  act  for  themselves, 
what  will  they  do  when  the  benefit  of  their  effort  is  for  all  ? 

A  first  mate  with  knotted  club  seems  necessary ;  and 
the  dread  of  getting  "the  bounce"  Saturday  night,  holds 
many  a  worker  to  his  place.  Advertise  for  a  stenographer, 
and  nine  out  of  ten  who  apply  can  neither  spell  nor 
punctuate  —  and  do  not  think  it  necessary  to. 

Can  such  a  one  write  a  letter  to  Garcia  ? 

"You  see  that  bookkeeper,"  said  the  foreman  to  me  in 
a  large  factory. 

"Yes,  what  about  him?" 

"Well,  he's  a  fine  accountant,  but  if  Fd  send  him  up- 
town on  an  errand,  he  might  accomplish  the  errand  all 
right,  and  on  the  other  hand,  might  stop  at  four  saloons 
on  the  way,  and  when  he  got  to  Main  Street,  would  forget 
what  he  had  been  sent  for." 

Can  such  a  man  be  entrusted  to  carry  a  message  to 
Garcia?  .  .  . 

Of  course  I  know  that  one  so  morally  deformed  is  no 
less  to  be  pitied  than  a  physical  cripple ;  but  in  our  pity- 
ing, let  us  drop  a  tear,  too,  for  the  men  who  are  striving 
to  carry  on  a  great  enterprise,  whose  working  hours  are 
not  limited  by  the  whistle,  and  whose  hair  is  fast  turning 
white  through  the  struggle  to  hold  in  line  dowdy  in- 
difference, slipshod  imbecihty,  and  the  heartless  ingrati- 
tude, which,  but  for  their  enterprise,  would  be  both  hungry 
and  homeless. 

Have  I  put  the  matter  too  strongly  ?  Possibly  I  have ; 
but  when  all  the  world  has  gone  a-slumming  I  wish  to 
speak  a  word  of  sympathy  for  the  man  who  succeeds  — 
the  man  who,  against  great  odds,  has  directed  the  efforts 
of  others,  and  having  succeeded,  finds  there's  nothing  in 
it :  nothing  but  bare  board  and  clothes.     I  have  carried  a 


Democracy  and  Life  137 

dinner  pail  and  worked  for  day's  wages,  and  I  have  also 
been  an  employer  of  labor,  and  I  know  there  is  something 
to  be  said  on  both  sides.  There  is  no  excellence,  per  se, 
in  poverty ;  rags  are  no  recommendation ;  and  all  em- 
ployers are  not  rapacious  and  high  handed  any  more  than 
all  poor  men  are  virtuous.  My  heart  goes  out  to  the 
man  who  does  his  work  when  the  "boss"  is  away,  as  well 
as  when  he  is  at  home.  And  the  man  who,  when  given  a 
letter  for  Garcia,  quietly  takes  the  missive,  without  asking 
any  idiotic  questions,  and  with  no  lurking  intention  of 
chucking  it  into  the  nearest  sewer,  or  of  doing  aught  else 
but  deliver  it,  never  gets  "laid  off,"  nor  has  to  go  on  a 
strike  for  higher  wages.  CiviUzation  is  one  long  anxious 
search  for  just  such  individuals.  Anything  such  a  man 
asks  shall  be  granted.  He  is  wanted  in  every  city,  town, 
and  village  —  in  every  office,  shop,  store,  and  factory. 
The  world  cries  out  for  such :  he  is  needed,  and  needed 
badly  —  the  man  who  can  CARRY  A  MESSAGE  TO 
GARCIA. 


VI.    PATRIOTISM 


AMERICA  1 

Samuel  Francis  Smith  (1808-1895) 

My  country,  'tis  of  thee, 
Sweet  land  of  liberty ; 

Of  thee  I  sing ; 
Land  where  my  fathers  died, 
Land  of  the  pilgrims'  pride. 
From  every  mountain  side 

Let  freedom  ring. 

My  native  country,  —  thee. 
Land  of  the  noble  free,  — 

Thy  name  I  love ; 
I  love  thy  rocks  and  riUs, 
Thy  woods  and  templed  hills ; 
My  heart  with  rapture  thrills 

Like  that  above. 

Let  music  swell  the  breeze. 
And  ring  from  all  the  trees 

Sweet  freedom's  song ; 
Let  mortal  tongues  awake, 
Let  all  that  breathe  partake  I 
Let  rocks  their  silence  break,  — 

The  sound  prolong. 

*  The  author  was  a  Baptist  minister  of  Boston,  who,  in  addition  to 
this  patriotic  hymn  often  sung  as  our  national  anthem,  wrote  a 
number  of  popular  hymns  and  poems. 

From  facsimile  reproduction  of  "America"  in  Dr.  Smith's  hand- 
writing in  "  A  History  of  Newton,  Massachusetts,"  by  S.  F.  Smith, 
D.D.  PubUshed,  1880,  by  The  American  Logotype  Company, 
Boston. 

139 


140  The  American  Spirit 

Our  fathers'  God,  —  to  Thee, 
Author  of  liberty, 

To  Thee  we  sing ; 
Long  may  our  land  be  bright 
With  freedom's  holy  light ; 
Protect  us  by  thy  might, 

Great  God,  our  King. 


THE  DUTY  AND  VALUE  OF  PATRIOTISM  ^ 
Archbishop  John  Ireland  (1838-        ) 

Be  this  my  theme  in  praise  of  America:  She  is,  as 
none  other,  the  land  of  human  dignity  and  human  liberty. 
When  the  fathers  of  the  Republic  declared:  ""That  all 
men  are  created  equal ;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their 
Creator  with  certain  unalienable  rights ;  that  among 
these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,"  a 
principle  was  enunciated  which,  in  its  truth,  was  as  old 
as  the  race,  but  in  practical  realization  was  almost 
unknown. 

Slowly  and  laboriously,  amid  suffering  and  revolution, 
humanity  had  been  reaching  out  towards  a  reign  of  the 
rights  of  man.  Paganism  utterly  denied  such  rights. 
It  allowed  nothing  to  man  as  man  ;  man  was  what  wealth, 
or  place,  or  power  made  him.  Even  the  wise  Aristotle 
taught  that  nature  intended  some  men  to  be  slaves  and 
chattels.  The  sweet  rehgion  of  Christ  proclaimed  aloud 
the  doctrine  of  the  common  fatherhood  of  God  and  the 
universal  brotherhood  of  man.     Eighteen  hundred  years, 

*  From  "The  Church  and  Modem  Society.  Lectures  and  Addresses 
by  John  Ireland."  Copyright,  1896,  by  D.  H.  McBride  &  Co., 
Chicago  and  New  York.     Used  by  permission  of  the  author. 


Patriotism  141 

however,  went  by,  and  the  civilized  world  had  not  yet 
put  its  civil  and  political  institutions  in  accord  with  its 
spiritual  faith.  During  all  that  time  the  Christian  Church 
was  leavening  human  society,  and  patiently  awaiting 
the  promised  fermentation.  This  came  at  last,  and  it 
came  in  America.  It  came  in  a  fu-st  manifestation 
through  the  Declaration  of  Independence ;  it  came  in  a 
second  and  final  manifestation  through  President  Lin- 
coln's proclamation  of  emancipation. 

In  America  all  men  are  civilly  and  pohtically  equal; 
all  have  the  same  rights ;  all  wield  the  same  arm  of  defense 
and  of  conquest  —  the  suffrage ;  and  the  sole  condition 
of  rights  and  of  power  is  simple  manhood. 

Liberty  is  exemption  from  all  restraint,  save  that  of  the 
laws  of  justice  and  order,  exemption  from  submission  to 
other  men,  except  so  far  as  they  represent  and  enforce 
those  laws.  The  divine  gift  of  liberty  is  God's  recognition 
of  man's  greatness  and  man's  dignity.  In  Hberty  lie 
the  sweetness  of  fife  and  the  power  of  growth.  The 
loss  of  liberty  is  the  loss  of  Hght  and  sunshine,  the  loss  of 
life's  best  portion.  Under  the  spell  of  heavenly  memories, 
humanity  never  had  ceased  to  dream  of  liberty  and  to 
aspire  to  its  possession.  Now  and  then,  here  and  there, 
liberty  had  for  a  moment  caressed  humanity's  brow.  But 
not  until  the  Republic  of  the  West  was  born,  not  until  the 
star-spangled  banner  rose  towards  the  skies,  was  Hberty 
caught  up  in  humanity's  embrace  and  embodied  in  a 
great  and  abiding  nation. 

In  America  the  government  takes  from  the  Hberty  of 
the  citizen  only  so  much  as  is  necessary  for  the  weal  of 
the  nation.  In  America  there  are  no  masters  who  govern 
in  their  own  right,  for  their  own  interest,  or  at  their  own 
wiU.     We  have  over  us  no  Bourbon  saying:    ''Vital, 


142  The  American  Spirit 

c*est  moi'\'^  no  Hohenzollern,^  proclaiming  that  in  his 
acts  as  sovereign  he  is  responsible  only  to  his  conscience 
and  to  God. 

/Ours  is  the  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people, 
and  for  the  people.  Our  government  is  our  own  organized 
will.  In  America  rights  begin  with  and  go  upward  from 
the  people.  In  other  countries,  even  in  those  which  are 
apparently  the  most  free,  rights  begin  with,  and  come 
downward  from,  the  state  ;  the  rights  of  citizens,  the  rights 
of  the  people,  are  concessions  which  have  been  wrested 
from  the  governing  powers.  In  America,  whenever  the 
government  does  not  prove  its  grant,  the  liberty  of  the 
individual  citizen  remains  intact.  / 

The  God-given  mission  of  the  Republic  of  America  is 
not  confined  to  its  own  people  —  it  extends  to  all  the 
peoples  of  the  earth,  to  whom  it  is  the  symbol  of  human 
rights  and  of  human  liberty,  and  towards  whom  its  flag 
flutters  hopes  of  future  happiness. 

Is  there  not  for  Americans  meaning  to  the  word  "coun- 
try"? Is  there  not  for  Americans  reason  to  live  for 
country,  and,  if  need  be,  to  die  for  country?  ...  In 
every  country,  patriotism  is  a  duty :  in  America,  it  is 
a  duty  thrice  sacred.  .  .  .  The  duty  of  patriotism  is  the 
duty  of  justice  and  of  gratitude.  The  country  fosters  and 
protects  our  dearest  interests ;  it  protects  our  hearths 
and  altars.  Without  it  there  is  no  safety  for  life  and 
property,  no  opportunity  for  development  and  progress. 
We  are  wise  of  our  country's  wisdom,  rich  of  its  opulence, 
strong  of  its  fortitude,  resplendent  of  its  glory. 

The  prisoner  Paul  rose  at  once  into  proud  distinction 
and   commanded   the   respect   of    Roman   soldiers   and 

1  "The  State,  that  is  I." 

*  The  family  name  of  the  kings  of  Prussia. 


Patriotism  143 

Palestinian  Jews  when,  to  the  question  of  the  tribune 
at  Jerusalem:  "Art  thou  a  Roman?"  ...  he  repUed, 
"I  am."  The  title  of  honor,  among  the  peoples  of 
antiquity,  was,  ''Civis  Romanus  —  a  Roman  citizen." 
More  significant  today,  throughout  the  world,  is  the  title : 
^'Civis  Americanus  —  an  American  citizen." 


THE  GLORY  OF  PATRIOTISM » 
Cardinal  Mercier 

Across  the  smoke  of  conflagration,  across  the  steam 
of  blood,  have  you  not  ghmpses,  do  you  not  perceive 
signs,  of  His  love  for  us?  Is  there  a  patriot  among  us 
who  does  not  know  that  Belgium  has  grown  great  ?  Nay, 
which  of  us  would  have  the  heart  to  cancel  this  last  page 
of  our  national  history?  Which  of  us  does  not  exult 
in  the  brightness  of  the  glory  of  this  shattered  nation? 
When  in  her  throes  she  brings  forth  heroes,  our  Mother 
Country  gives  her  own  energy  to  the  blood  of  those  sons 
of  hers.  Let  us  acknowledge  that  we  needed  a  lesson  in 
patriotism.  There  were  Belgians,  and  many  such,  who 
wasted  their  time  and  their  talents  in  futile  quarrels  of 
class  with  class,  of  race  with  race,  of  passion  with  personal 
passion. 

Yet  when,  on  the  second  of  August,  a  mighty  foreign 

1  Cardinal  Mercier,  Archbishop  of  Malines,  Belgium,  stands  out  as 
one  of  the  most  heroic  and  patriotic  figures  in  the  world,  by  virtue 
of  what  he  has  said  and  done  for  the  people  of  his  country  during 
the  period  of  their  oppression  by  a  foreign  mihtary  power. 
From  "Pastoral  Letter  of  His  Eminence  Cardinal  Mercier, 
Archbishop  of  Malines,  Primate  of  Belgium.  Christmas,  1914.'* 
Pubhshed  by  Burns  &  Gates,  Ltd.,  London. 


144  The  American  Spirit 

power,  confident  in  its  own  strength  and  defiant  of  the 
faith  of  treaties,  dared  to  threaten  us  in  our  independence, 
then  did  all  Belgians,  without  difference  of  party,  or  of 
condition,  or  of  origin,  rise  up  as  one  man,  close-ranged 
about  their  own  king,  and  their  own  government,  and  cry 
to  the  invader,  "Thou  shalt  not  go  through !" 

At  once,  instantly,  we  were  conscious  of  our  own  patriot- 
ism. For  down  within  us  all  is  something  deeper  than 
personal  interests,  tl\an  personal  kinships,  than  party 
feeling,  and  this  is  the  need  and  the  will  to  devote  our- 
selves to  that  more  general  interest  which  Rome  termed 
the  public  thing.  Res  publica.  And  this  profound  will 
within  us  is  Patriotism.  .  .  . 

Family  interests,  class  interests,  party  interests,  and 
the  material  good  of  the  individual  take  their  place,  in 
the  scale  of  values,  below  the  ideal  of  Patriotism,  for  that 
ideal  is  Right,  which  is  absolute.  Furthermore,  that 
ideal  is  the  pubUc  recognition  of  Right  in  national  matters, 
and  of  national  Honor.  Now  there  is  no  Absolute  except 
God.  God  alone,  by  His  sanctity  and  His  sovereignty, 
dominates  all  human  interests  and  human  wills.  And  to 
affirm  the  absolute  necessity  of  the  subordination  of  all 
things  to  Right,  to  Justice,  and  to  Truth,  is  impKcitly 
to  affirm  God. 

When,  therefore,  humble  soldiers  whose  heroism  we 
praise  answer  us  with  characteristic  simplicity,  "We  only 
did  our  duty,"  or,  "We  were  bound  in  honor,"  they  ex- 
press the  refigious  character  of  their  Patriotism.  Which 
of  us  does  not  feel  that  Patriotism  is  a  sacred  thing,  and 
that  a  violation  of  national  dignity  is  in  a  manner  a 
profanation  and  a  sacrilege  ? 


Patriotism  145 

LOVE  OF  COUNTRY  ^  • 

Sir  Walter  Scott  (1771-1832) 

Breathes  there  the  man  with  soul  so  dead, 
Who  never  to  himself  hath  said, 

"This  is  my  own  —  my  native  land  I" 
Whose  heart  hath  ne'er  within  him  burned. 
As  home  his  footsteps  he  hath  turned, 

From  wandering  on  a  foreign  strand  I 
If  such  there  breathe,  go,  mark  him  well ; 
For  him  no  Minstrel  raptures  swell ; 
High  though  his  titles,  proud  his  name. 
Boundless  his  wealth  as  wish  can  claim ; 
Despite  those  titles,  power,  and  pelf, 
The  wretch,  concentered  all  in  self. 
Living,  shall  forfeit  fair  renown. 
And,  doubly  dying,  shall  go  down 
To  the  vile  dust,  from  whence  he  sprung, 
Unwept,  unhonored,  and  unsung. 

THE  MAN  WITHOUT  A  COUNTRY « 

Edward  Everett  Hale  (1822-1909) 

Philip  Nolan  was  as  fine  a  young  officer  as  there  was 
in  the  *' Legion  of  the  West,"  as  the  Western  division  of 
our  army  was  then  called.  When  Aaron  Burr  made  his 
first  dashing  expedition  down  to  New  Orleans  in  1805,  at 
Fort  Massac,  or  somewhere  above  on  the  river,  he  met,  as 

iFrom  "The  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel,"  Canto  VI.     Printed  by 
Longman,  Hurst  &  Co.,  London,  1805. 

*From    "The   Man   without   a   Country."     Copyright,    1888,  by 
Roberts  Brothers,  Boston. 


146  The  American  Spirit 

the  Devil  would  have  it,  this  gay,  dashing,  bright  young 
fellow,  at  some  dinner  party,  I  think.  Burr  marked  him, 
talked  to  him,  walked  with  him,  took  him  a  day  or  two's 
voyage  in  his  flatboat,  and,  in  short,  fascinated  him. 
For  the  next  year;  barrack  hfe  was  very  tame  to  poor 
Nolan.  .  .  . 

What  Burr  meant  to  do  I  know  no  more  than  you, 
dear  reader.  It  is  none  of  our  business  just  now.  Only, 
when  the  grand  catastrophe  came,  .  .  .  one  and  another 
of  the  colonels  and  majors  were  tried,  and  to  fill  out  the 
list,  little  Nolan,  against  whom,  Heaven  knows,  there 
was  evidence  enough,  —  that  he  was  sick  of  the  service, 
had  been  wiUing  to  be  false  to  it,  and  would  have  obeyed 
any  order  to  march  anywhither  with  any  one  who  would 
follow  him  had  the  order  been  signed,  "By  command  of 
His  Exc.  A.  Burr."  .  .  .  Nolan  was  proved  guilty 
enough,  as  I  say ;  yet  you  and  I  would  never  have  heard 
of  him,  reader,  but  that,  when  the  president  of  the  court 
asked  him  at  the  close,  whether  he  wished  to  say  anything 
to  show  that  he  had  always  been  faithful  to  the  United 
States,  he  cried  out,  in  a  fit  of  frenzy,  — 

"Damn  the  United  States!  I  wish  I  may  never  hear 
of  the  United  States  again ! " 

I  suppose  he  did  not  know  how  the  words  shocked  old 
Colonel  Morgan,  who  was  holding  the  court.  Half  the 
officers  who  sat  in  it  had  served  through  the  Revolution, 
and  their  Kves,  not  to  say  their  necks,  had  been  risked  for 
the  very  idea  which  he  so  cavaherly  cursed  in  his  madness. 
He  on  his  part  had  grown  up  in  the  West  of  those  days, 
in  the  midst  of  "Spanish  plot,"  "Orleans  plot,"  and  all 
the  rest.  He  had  been  educated  on  a  plantation  where 
the  finest  company  was  a  Spanish  officer  or  a  French  mer- 
chant from  Orleans.  ...     In  a  word,  to  him  "United 


Patriotism  147 

States"  was  scarcely  a  reality.  Yet  he  had  been  fed  by 
"United  States"  for  all  the  years  since  he  had  been  in 
the  army.  He  had  sworn  on  his  faith  as  a  Christian  to 
be  true  to  "United  States."  It  was  "United  States" 
which  gave  him  the  uniform  he  wore,  and  the  sword  by 
his  side.  Nay,  my  poor  Nolan,  it  was  only  because 
"United  States"  had  picked  you  out  first  as  one  of  her 
own  confidential  men  of  honor  that  "A.  Burr"  cared  for 
you  a  straw  more  than  for  the  flatboat  men  who  sailed 
his  ark  for  him.  I  do  not  excuse  Nolan ;  I  only  explain 
to  the  reader  why  he  damned  his  country,  and  wished  he 
might  never  hear  her  name  again. 

He  never  did  hear  her  name  but  once  again.  From 
that  moment,  September  23,  1807,  till  the  day  he  died, 
May  11,  1863,  he  never  heard  her  name  again.  For  that 
half  century  and  more  he  was  a  man  without  a  country. 

Old  Morgan,  as  I  said,  was  terribly  shocked.  If  Nolan 
had  compared  George  Washington  to  Benedict  Arnold, 
or  had  cried,  "God  save  King  George!"  Morgan  would 
not  have  felt  worse.  He  called  the  court  into  his  private 
room,  and  returned  in  fifteen  minutes,  with  a  face  like 
a  sheet,  to  say : 

"Prisoner,  hear  the  sentence  of  the  Court  I  The  Court 
decides, , subject  to  the  approval  of  the  President,  that 
you  never  hear  the  name  of  the  United  States  again." 

Nolan  laughed.  But  nobody  else  laughed.  Old  Mor- 
gan was  too  solemn,  and  the  whole  room  was  hushed  dead 
as  night  for  a  minute.  Even  Nolan  lost  his  swagger  in  a 
moment.  .  .  . 

The  plan  then  adopted  was  ...  to  put  Nolan  on  board 
a  government  vessel  bound  on  a  long  cruise,  and  to  direct 
that  he  should  be  only  so  far  confined  there  as  to  make  it 
certain  that  he  never  saw  or  heard  of  the  country.  .  .  . 


148  The  American  Spirit 

No  mess  liked  to  have  him  permanently,  because  his 
presence  cut  off  all  talk  of  home  or  of  the  prospect  of 
return,  of  politics  or  letters,  of  peace  or  of  war,  —  cut 
off  more  than  half  the  talk  men  like  to  have  at  sea.  .  .  . 
The  captain  always  asked  him  to  dinner  on  Monday. 
Every  mess  in  succession  took  up  the  invitation  in  its 
turn.  According  to  the  size  of  the  ship,  you  had  him  at 
your  mess  more  or  less  often  at  dinner.  His  breakfast 
he  ate  in  his  own  stateroom,  —  he  always  had  a  state- 
room, —  which  was  where  a  sentinel  or  somebody  on  the 
watch  could  see  the  door.  And  whatever  else  he  ate  or 
drank,  he  ate  or  drank  alone.  Sometimes,  when  the 
marines  or  sailors  had  any  special  jolKfication,  they  were 
permitted  to  invite  "Plain-Buttons,"  as  they  called  him. 
Then  Nolan  was  sent  with  some  officer,  and  the  men  were 
forbidden  to  speak  of  home  while  he  was  there.  I  believe 
the  theory  was  that  the  sight  of  his  punishment  did  them 
good.  They  called  him  "Plain-Buttons,"  because,  while 
he  always  chose  to  wear  a  regulation  army  uniform,  he 
was  not  permitted  to  wear  the  army  button,  for  the  reason 
that  it  bore  either  the  initials  or  the  insignia  of  the  coun- 
try he  had  disowned.  .  .  . 

As  he  was  almost  never  permitted  to  go  on  shore, 
even  though  the  vessel  lay  in  port  for  months,  his  time 
at  the  best  hung  heavy;  and  everybody  was  permitted 
to  lend  him  books,  if  they  were  not  published  in  America 
and  made  no  allusion  to  it.  These  were  common  enough 
in  the  old  days,  when  people  in  the  other  hemisphere  talked 
of  the  United  States  as  little  as  we  do  of  Paraguay.  He 
had.almost  all  the  foreign  papers  that  came  into  the  ship, 
sooner  or  later ;  only  somebody  must  go  over  them  first, 
and  cut  out  any  advertisement  or  stray  paragraph  that 
alluded  to  America.     This  was  a  little  cruel  sometimes, 


Patriotism  149 

when  the  back  of  what  was  cut  out  might  be  as  innocent 
as  Hesiod.  Right  in  the  midst  of  one  of  Napoleon's 
battles,  or  one  of  Canning's  speeches,  poor  Nolan  would 
find  a  great  hole,  because  on  the  back  of  the  page  of  that 
paper  there  had  been  an  advertisement  of  a  packet  for 
New  York,  or  a  scrap  from  the  President's  message.  .  .  . 
Nolan  was  permitted  to  join  the  circle  one  afternoon  when 
a  lot  of  them  sat  on  deck  smoking  and  reading  aloud. 
People  do  not  do  such  things  so  often  now ;  but  when  I 
was  young  we  got  rid  of  a  great  deal  of  time  so.  Well, 
so  it  happened  that  in  his  turn  Nolan  took  the  book  and 
read  to  the  others,  and  he  read  very  well,  as  I  know. 
Nobody  in  the  circle  knew  a  line  of  the  poem,  only  it  was 
all  magic  and  Border  chivalry,  and  was  ten  thousand 
years  ago.  Poor  Nolan  read  steadily  through  the  fifth 
canto,  stopped  a  minute  and  drank  something,  and  then 
began,  without  a  thought  of  what  was  coming,  — 

"Breathes  there  the  man  with  soul  so  dead 
Who  never  to  himself  hath  said  — " 

It  seems  impossible  to  us  that  anybody  ever  heard  this  for 
the  first  time ;  but  all  these  fellows  did  then,  and  poor 
Nolan  himself  went  on,  still  unconsciously  or  mechani- 
cally: 

"This  is  my  own,  my  native  land  1 ' ' 

Then  they  all  saw  something  was  to  pay ;  but  he  expected 
to  get  through,  I  suppose,  turned  a  httle  pale,  but  plunged 

on: 

"  Whose  heart  hath  ne'er  within  him  burned, 
As  home  his  footsteps  he  hath  turned 

From  wandering  on  a  foreign  strand  ? 
If  such  there  breathe,  go,  mark  him  well"  — 

By  this  time  the  men  were  aU  beside  themselves,  wish- 
ing there  was  any  way  to  make  him  turn  over  two  pages ; 


150  The  American  Spirit 

but  he  had  not  quite  presence  of  mind  for  that ;  he  gagged 
a  little,  colored  crimson,  and  staggered  on : 

"For  him  no  minstrel  raptures  swell ; 
High  though  his  titles,  proud  his  name, 
Boundless  his  wealth  as  wish  can  claim, 
Despite  those  titles,  power,  and  pelf. 
The  wretch,  concentered  aU  in  self, "  — 

and  here  the  poor  fellow  choked,  could  not  go  on,  but 
started  up,  swung  the  book  into  the  sea,  vanished  into 
his  stateroom,  "And,  by  Jove,"  said  Philhps,  "we  did  not 
see  him  for  two  months  again.  And  I  had  to  make  up 
some  beggarly  story  to  that  English  surgeon  why  I  did 
not  return  his  Walter  Scott  to  him." 

That  story  shows  about  the  time  when  Nolan's  brag- 
gadocio must  have  broken  down.  At  first,  they  said, 
he  took  a  very  high  tone,  considered  his  imprisonment 
a  mere  farce,  affected  to  enjoy  the  voyage,  and  all  that ; 
but  Phillips  said  that  after  he  came  out  of  his  stateroom 
he  never  was  the  same  man  again.  He  never  read  aloud 
again,  unless  it  was  the  Bible,  or  Shakespeare,  or  some- 
thing else  he  was  sure  of.  But  it  was  not  that  merely. 
He  never  entered  in  with  the  other  young  men  exactly 
as  a  companion  again.  .  r  . 

I  first  came  to  understand  anything  about  "  the  man 
without  a  country"  one  day  when  we  overhauled  a  dirty 
little  schooner  which  had  slaves  on  board.  An  officer 
was  sent  to  take  charge  of  her,  and  after  a  few  minutes, 
he  sent  back  his  boat  to  ask  that  some  one  might  be  sent 
him  who  could  speak  Portuguese.  But  none  of  the  officers 
did ;  and  just  as  the  captain  was  sending  forward  to  ask 
if  any  of  the  people  could,  Nolan  stepped  out  and  said 
he  should  be  glad  to  interpret,  if  the  captain  wished,  as  he 
understood   the   language.     The   captain   thanked   him, 


Patriotism  151 

fitted  out  another  boat  with  him,  and  in  this  boat  it  was 
my  luck  to  go. 

When  we  got  there,  it  was  such  a  scene  as  you  seldom 
see,  and  never  want  to :  Nastiness  beyond  account,  and 
chaos  run  loose  in  the  midst  of  the  nastiness.  There  were 
not  a  great  many  of  the  negroes ;  but  by  way  of  making 
what  there  were  understand  that  they  were  free,  Vaughan 
had  had  their  handcuffs  and  ankle  cuffs  knocked  off,  and, 
for  convenience'  sake,  was  putting  them  upon  the  rascals 
of  the  schooner's  crew.  The  negroes  were,  most  of 
them,  out  of  the  hold,  and  swarming  all  around  the 
dirty  deck,  with  a  central  throng  surrounding  Vaughan 
and  addressing  him  in  every  dialect,  and  patois  of  a 
dialect.  .  .  . 

"Tell  them  they  are  free,"  said  Vaughan,  "and  tell 
them  that  these  rascals  are  to  be  hanged  as  soon  as  we 
can  get  rope  enough." 

Nolan  "put  that  into  Spanish,"  —  that  is,  he  explained 
it  in  such  Portuguese  as  the  Kroomen  ^  could  understand, 
and  they  in  turn  to  such  of  the  negroes  as  could  under- 
stand them.  Then  there  was  such  a  yell  of  delight,  cUnch- 
ing  of  fists,  leaping  and  dancing,  kissing  of  Nolan's  feet, 
and  a  general  .  .  .  spontaneous  worship  of  Vaughan, 
as  the  deus  ex  machina  ^  of  the  occasion. 

"Tell  them,"  said  Vaughan,  well  pleased,  "that  I  will 
take  them  all  to  Cape  Palmas." 

This  did  not  answer  so  well.  Cape  Palmas  was  prac- 
tically as  far  from  the  homes  of  most  of  them  as  New 
Orleans  or  Rio  Janeiro  was ;  that  is,  they  would  be  eter- 

1  Native  boatmen  of  West  Africa. 

2  "God  from  the  machine,"  a  phrase  which  comes  from  ancient 
theatrical  traditions  of  days  when  figures  of  the  gods  appearing  in 
plays  were  moved  by  a  machine. 


152  The  American  Spirit 

nally  separated  from  home  there.  And  their  interpreters, 
as  we  could  understand,  instantly  said,  "Ah,  non  Pal- 
mas,"  and  began  to  propose  infinite  other  expedients  in 
most  voluble  language.  Vaughan  was  rather  disappointed 
at  this  result  of  his  Uberahty,  and  asked  Nolan  eagerly 
what  they  said.  The  drops  stood  on  poor  Nolan's  white 
forehead,  as  he  hushed  the  men  down,  and  said : 

"He  says,  *Not  Palmas.'  He  says,  'Take  us  home, 
take  us  to  our  own  country,  take  us  to  our  own  house, 
take  us  to  our  own  pickaninnies  and  our  own  women.' 
He  says  he  has  an  old  father  and  mother  who  will  die  if 
they  do  not  see  him.  And  this  one  says  he  left  his  people 
all  sick,  and  paddled  down  to  Fernando  to  beg  the  white 
doctor  to  come  and  help  them,  and  that  these  devils 
caught  him  in  the  bay  just  in  sight  of  home,  and  that  he 
has  never  seen  anybody  from  home  since  then.  And  this 
one  says,"  choked  out  Nolan,  "that  he  has  not  heard  a 
word  from  his  home  in  six  months,  while  he  has  been  locked 
up  in  an  infernal  barracoon."  ^ 

Vaughan  always  said  he  grew  gray  himself,  while  Nolan 
struggled  through  this  interpretation.  I,  who  did  not 
understand  anything  of  the  passion  involved  in  it,  saw 
that  the  very  elements  were  melting  with  fervent  heat, 
and  that  something  was  to  pay  somewhere.  Even  the 
negroes  themselves  stopped  howling,  as  they  saw  Nolan's 
agony,  and  Vaughan's  almost  equal  agony  of  sympathy. 
As  soon  as  he  could  get  words,  he  said : 

"Tell  them  yes,  yes,  yes;  tell  them  they  shall  go  to 
the  Mountains  of  the  Moon,  if  they  will.  If  I  sail  the 
schooner  through  the  Great  White  Desert,  they  shall  go 
home  I" 

And  after  some  fashion  Nolan  said  so.  .  .  . 

1  Slave  pen. 


Patriotism  153 

As  we  lay  back  in  the  stern  sheets  and  the  men  gave 
way,  he  said  to  me : 

"Yomigster,  let  that  show  you  what  it  is  to  be  with- 
out a  family,  without  a  home,  and  without  a  country. 
And  if  you  are  ever  tempted  to  say  a  word  or  to  do  a  thing 
that  shall  put  a  bar  between  you  and  your  family,  your 
home,  and  your  country,  pray  God  in  His  mercy  to  take 
you  that  instant  home  to  His  own  heaven.  Stick  by  your 
family,  boy ;  forget  you  have  a  self,  while  you  do  every- 
thing for  them.  Think  of  your  home,  boy;  write  and 
send,  and  talk  about  it.  Let  it  be  nearer  and  nearer  to 
your  thought,  the  farther  you  have  to  travel  from  it; 
and  rush  back  to  it,  when  you  ara  free,  as  that  poor  black 
slave  is  doing  now.  And  for  your  country,  boy,"  and  the 
words  rattled  in  his  throat,  "and  for  that  flag,"  and  he 
pointed  to  the  ship,  "never  dream  a  dream  but  of  serving 
her  as  she  bids  you,  though  the  service  carry  you  through 
a  thousand  hells.  No  matter  what  happens  to  you,  no 
matter  who  flatters  you  or  who  abuses  you,  never  look 
at  another  flag,  never  let  a  night  pass  but  you  pray  God 
to  bless  that  flag.  Remember,  boy,  that  behind  all  these 
men  you  have  to  do  with,  behind  officers,  and  government, 
and  people  even,  there  is  the  country  herself,  your  coun- 
try, and  that  you  belong  to  her  as  you  belong  to  your 
own  mother.  Stand  by  her,  boy,  as  you  would  stand 
by  your  mother,  if  those  devils  there  had  got  hold  of  her 
today  I" 


154  The  American  Spirit 

THE  MORAL  QUALITY  IN  PATRIOTISM  i 
George  William  Curtis  (1824-1892) 

As  you  have  contemplated  the  brief  glory  of  our  summer, 
where  the  clover  almost  blooms  out  of  snowdrifts  and 
the  red  apples  drop  almost  with  the  white  blossoms,  you 
have,  perhaps,  remembered  that  the  flower  upon  the 
tree  was  only  the  ornament  of  a  moment,  a  brilliant 
part  of  the  process  by  which  the  fruit  was  formed, 
and  that  the  perfect  fruit  itself  was  but  the  seed  vessel 
by  which  the  race  of  the  tree  was  continued  from  year  to 
year. 

Then,  have  you  followed  the  exquisite  analogy  —  that 
youth  is  the  aromatic  flower  upon  the  tree;  the  grave 
life  of  maturer  years  its  sober,  soUd  fruit ;  and  the  prin- 
ciples and  character  deposited  by  that  hfe  the  seeds  by 
which  the  glory  of  this  race,  also,  is  perpetuated  ? 

The  flower  in  your  hand  fades  while  you  look  at  it; 
the  dream  that  allures  you  glimmers  and  is  gone.  But 
both  flower  and  dream,  Uke  youth  itself,  are  buds  and 
prophecies.  For  where,  without  the  perfumed  blooming 
of  the  spring  orchards  all  over  the  hills  and  among  the 
valleys  of  New  England  and  New  York,  would  the  happy 
harvests  of  New  York  and  New  England  be  ?  and  where, 
without  the  dreams  of  the  young  men  Hghting  the  future 

*  The  oration  containing  this  selection  was  delivered  before  the 
graduating  class  at  Union  College,  Schenectady,  July  20,  1857. 
As  journalist,  orator,  and  essayist,  George  William  Curtis  was 
identified  with  civil  service  reform  and  other  movements  for  good 
government  during  the  greater  part  of  his  hfe. 
From  Orations  and  Addresses  of  George  WiUiam  Curtis, 
Vol.  I.  Copyright,  1893,  by  Harper  &  Brothers,  New  York.  Used 
by  permission  of  the  publishers. 


Patriotism  155 

with  human  possibility,  would  be  the  deeds  of  the  old 
men  dignifying  the  past  with  human  achievement  ? 

Gentlemen,  how  deeply  does  it  become  us  to  trust  in 
the  promise  of  youth  and  to  beheve  in  its  fulfillment  — 
us,  who  are  not  only  young  ourselves,  but  living  with  the 
youth  of  the  youngest  nation  in  history. 

I  congratulate  you  that  you  are  young ;  I  congratulate 
you  that  you  are  Americans. 

Life  is  beginning  for  us ;  but  the  life  of  every  nation, 
as  of  every  individual,  is  a  battle,  and  the  victory  is  to 
those  who  fight  with  faith  and  undespairing  devotion. 
Knowing  that  nothing  is  worth  fighting  for  at  all  unless 
God  reigns,  let  us  beheve  at  least  as  much  in  the  goodness 
of  God  as  we  do  in  the  dexterity  of  the  Devil.  And, 
viewing  this  prodigious  spectacle  of  our  country  —  this 
hope  of  humanity  —  this  young  America,  our  America, 
taking  the  sun  full  in  the  front,  and  making  for  the  future 
as  boldly  and  bhthely  as  the  young  David  for  Gohath  — 
let  us  believe  in  our  own  hopes  with  all  our  hearts,  and 
out  of  that  faith  shall  spring  the  fact  that  David,  and  not 
Goliath,  is  to  win  the  day. 

Only  by  the  religious  resolution  of  every  successive 
generation  of  young  Americans  shall  the  great  ideas  out 
of  which  America  sprang,  the  cardinal  principles  of 
religious  and  civil  liberty,  still  guide  and  determine  the 
development  of  its  destiny. 

Today,  therefore,  we  turn  to  no  black-letter  lore. 
Scholars  do  not  need  to  hear  of  the  value  of  scholarship. 
The  finest  scholarship  is  but  a  single  grace  of  the  man. 
How  can  the  man  best  be  developed  in  America?  That 
is  a  question  to  which  the  Future  bends  its  ear.  Let  us, 
then,  look  at  the  tie  which  binds  us  to  that  country,  and 
consider  the  nature,  responsibility,  and  duties  of  Patriotism. 


156  The  American  Spirit 

It  was  not  his  olive-valleys  and  almond  groves  which 
made  the  Greece  of  the  Greek.  It  was  not  for  their  apple 
orchards  or  potato  fields  that  the  farmers  of  New  England 
and  New  York  left  their  plows  in  the  furrows  and  marched 
to  Bunker  Hill,  to  Bennington,  to  Saratoga.  The  rains 
fall,  the  earth  yields,  fruits  ripen,  and  the  world  is  fair, 
whether  George  is  King  or  James  is  President ;  whether 
armies  are  marching  to  shoot  and  slay,  or  troops  of 
children  laugh  in  the  meadows,  picking  buttercups  and 
daisies. 

When  we  speak  of  Greece,  our  chief  interest  is  not  in 
a  certain  number  of  square  miles  of  ground  —  so  much 
water,  so  many  trees  —  it  is  not  geographical  or  botanical 
or  geological ;  but  it  is  in  our  association  with  the  history 
of  a  people  and  a  certain  character  that  we  call  Greek ; 
so  with  the  French,  the  Italian,  the  German,  and  the 
Enghsh. 

Patriotism,  or  the  peculiar  relation  of  an  individual 
to  his  country,  is  Uke  the  family  instinct.  In  the  child  it 
is  a  blind  devotion ;  in  the  man  an  intelligent  love.  The 
patriot  perceives  the  claim  made  upon  his  country  by  the 
circumstances  and  time  of  her  growth  and  power,  and  how 
God  is  to  be  served  by  using  those  opportunities  of  help- 
ing mankind.  Therefore  his  country's  honor  is  dear  to 
him  as  his  own,  and  he  would  as  soon  lie  and  steal  himself 
as  assist  or  excuse  his  country  in  a  crime. 

Right  and  Wrong,  Justice  and  Crime,  exist  independ- 
ently of  our  country.  A  public  wrong  is  not  a  private 
right  for  any  citizen.  The  citizen  is  a  man  bound  to 
know  and  to  do  the  right,  and  the  nation  is  but  an  aggre- 
gation of  citizens.  If  a  man  shout,  "My  country,  by 
whatever  means  extended  and  bounded;  my  country, 
right  or  wrong,"  he  merely  utters  words  such  as  those 


Patriotism  157 

might  be  of  the  thief  who  steals  in  the  street,  or  of  the 
trader  who  swears  falsely  at  the  customhouse,  both  of 
them  chuckling,  *'My  fortune,  however  acquired.".  .  . 

Remember  that  the  greatness  of  our  country  is  not  in 
the  greatness  of  its  achievement,  but  in  its  promise  — 
a  promise  that  cannot  be  fulfilled  without  that  sovereign 
moral  sense,  without  a  sensitive  national  conscience.  If 
it  were  a  question  of  the  mere  daily  pleasure  of  hving,  the 
gratification  of  taste,  opportunity  of  access  to  the  great 
intellectual  and  aesthetic  results  of  human  genius  and 
whatever  embeUishes  human  fife,  no  man  could  hesitate 
a  moment  between  the  fullness  of  foreign  lands  in  these 
respects  and  the  conspicuous  poverty  of  our  own.  What 
have  we  done.^  We  have  subdued  and  settled  a  vast 
domain.  We  have  made  every  inland  river  turn  a  mill, 
and  wherever  on  the  dim  rim  of  the  globe  there  is  a  harbor, 
we  have  Ughted  it  with  an  American  sail.  We  have 
bound  the  Atlantic  to  the  Mississippi,  so  that  we  drift 
from  the  prairies  upon  a  cloud  of  vapor ;  and  we  are 
stretching  one  hand  across  the  continent  to  fulfill  the  hope 
of  Columbus  in  a  shorter  way  to  Cathay,  and  with  the 
other  we  are  groping  under  the  sea  to  clasp  there  the 
hand  of  the  old  continent,  that  so  the  throbbing  of  the 
ocean  may  not  toss  us  farther  apart,  but  be  as  the  beat- 
ing of  one  common  pulse  of  the  world. 

Yet  these  are  results  common  to  all  national  enterprise, 
and  difi'erent  with  us  only  in  degree,  not  in  kind.  These 
are  but  the  tools  with  which  to  shape  a  destiny.  Com- 
mercial prosperity  is  only  a  curse  if  it  be  not  subservient 
to  moral  and  intellectual  progress,  and  our  prosperity  will 
conquer  us  if  we  do  not  conquer  our  prosperity.  ... 

The  whole  of  Patriotism  for  us  seems  to  consist  at  the 
present  moment  in  the  maintenance  of  this  pubUc  moral 


158  The  American  Spirit 

tone.  No  voice  of  self-glorification,  no  complacent  con- 
gratulation that  we  are  the  greatest,  wisest,  and  best 
of  nations,  will  help  our  greatness  or  our  goodness  in  the 
smallest  degree.  History  and  mankind  do  not  take  men 
or  nations  at  their  own  valuation,  and  a  man  no  longer 
secures  instant  respect  and  sympathy  by  announcing  him- 
self an  American.  Are  we  satisfied  that  America  should 
have  no  other  excuse  for  independent  national  existence 
than  a  superior  facility  of  money  making  ?  Shall  it  have 
no  national  justification  to  the  intellect  and  the  heart  ? 
Does  the  production  of  twelve  hundred  million  pounds 
of  cotton  fulfill  the  destiny  of  this  continent  in  the  order 
of  Providence  ?  Why,  if  we  are  unfaithful  as  a  nation, 
though  our  population  were  to  double  in  a  year,  and  the 
roar  and  rush  of  our  vast  machinery  were  to  silence  the 
music  of  the  spheres,  and  our  wealth  were  enough  to  buy 
all  the  world,  our  population  could  not  bully  history,  nor 
all  our  riches  bribe  the  eternal  Justice  not  to  write  upon 
us,  as  with  fiery  finger  the  autumn  is  beginning  even  now 
to  write  upon  the  woods  and  fields,  *'IchabodI  IchabodI 
the  glory  is  departed  I " 


AMERICA  THE  BEAUTIFUL  ^ 
Katharine  Lee  Bates  (1850-        ) 

0  beautiful  for  spacious  skies, 

For  amber  waves  of  grain. 
For  purple  mountain  majesties 

Above  the  fruited  plain ! 

1  From  "America  the  Beautiful  and  Other  Poems."  Copyright, 
1911,  by  Thomas  Y.  Crowell  Company.  Used  by  permission  of 
the  publishers. 


Patriotism  159                    i 

1 

America!    America  I  i 

God  shed  His  grace  on  thee  i 

And  crown  thy  good  with  brotherhood  ^ 

.    From  sea  to  shining  sea  I  i 

■  '                   '' 

0  beautiful  for  pilgrim  feet  [ 

Whose  stern,  impassioned  stress  ; 

A  thoroughfare  for  freedom  beat  1 

Across  the  wilderness  I  \ 

America!    America!  i 

God  mend  thine  every  flaw,  ^ 
Confirm  thy  soul  in  self-control, 

Thy  liberty  in  law  I  { 

0  beautiful  for  heroes  proved 

In  liberating  strife,  \ 

Who  more  than  self  their  country  loved,  * 

And  mercy  more  than  life !  I 

America !    America !  ^_ 

May  God  thy  gold  refine,  '  ] 
Till  all  success  be  nobleness, 

And  every  gain  divine !  ■ 

0  beautiful  for  patriot  dream 

That  sees  beyond  the  years  ; 

Thine  alabaster  cities  gleam  < 

Undimmed  by  human  te£U"s  I  I 

America!    America!  ^ 

God  shed  His  grace  on  thee  ] 

And  crown  thy  good  with  brotherhood  j 

From  sea  to  shining  sea  I 


160  The  American  Spirit 

MARTIAL  VALOR  IN  TIMES  OF  PEACES 
John  Grier  Hibben,  D.D.  (1861-       ) 

The  first  recognition  of  the  duty  arising  from  the  peace 
and  the  Hberty  which  our  repubhc  provides,  comes  with 
the  realization  that  we  are  not  a  mass  of  many  miUions  of 
separate  individuals,  each  with  his  own  particular  interests 
to  maintain  and  preserve,  but  that  we  are  one  people,  en- 
listed in  the  service  of  a  common  cause.  This  idea  of  a 
common  cause  which  is  the  inspiration  of  all  the  heroic 
deeds  of  self-sacrifice  in  the  time  of  war,  we  must  endeavor 
in  some  way  to  make  potent  in  the  activities  and  pursuits 
of  our  people  in  the  time  of  peace.  All  soldiers  are  com- 
rades in  arms.  Can  we  not  also  recognize  the  bonds  of 
comradeship  in  the  common  work  of  the  world,  in  our 
common  lot  and  our  common  destiny  as  brother  men? 
Is  it  not  possible  to  feel  the  thrill  of  comradeship  in  our 
common  fight  against  the  forces  of  ignorance,  of  evil,  of 
vice,  of  intemperance,  of  injustice,  of  disease  and  prema- 
ture death  .^  To  save  his  comrade  from  death  when 
under  fire  the  true  soldier  will  run  every  risk  of  personal 
danger  and  hold  his  own  fife  cheap  in  his  all-absorbing 
work  of  rescue.  Amidst  the  perils  of  peace  you  too  will 
hear  the  call  for  help  from  many  a  comrade  against  whom 
the  tide  of  circumstance  is  running  hard.  .  .  . 

In  peace  your  duty  will  not  come  to  you  as  it  does  when 
there  is  a  call  to  arms  with  the  enemy  already  crossing 
your  country's  frontier.  You  must  go  forth  to  meet  it. 
You  must  either  discover  your  duty  or  else  create  it,  and 

1  Dr.  Hibben  is  president  of  Princeton  University. 
From    "The   Higher   Patriotism."     Copyright,  1915,  by  Charles 
Scribner's  Sons,  New  York.     Used  by  permission  of  the  pubHshers. 


Patriotism  161 

then  swear  allegiance  in  your  own  name  to  its  high  behests. 
Centuries  ago  the  knight  errant  rode  forth  on  the  adven- 
ture of  service,  to  champion  the  cause  of  the  weak  and 
the  wronged  wherever  they  might  be  found.  For  him 
there  was  no  clear  call  to  any  definite  undertaking.  But, 
compelled  by  the  knightly  spirit,  he  resolutely  set  himself 
to  seek  the  undiscovered  duty  somewhere  beyond  the  far 
horizon.  There  is  no  place  in  our  modern  days  for  this 
type  of  noble  adventurer.  He  has  disappeared  with  the 
conditions  and  opportunities  of  the  age  in  which  he  flour- 
ished. But  the  same  spirit  may  reappear  in  another 
form,  to  meet  the  needs  of  another  age,  again 

To  serve  as  model  for  the  mighty  world. 
And  be  the  fair  begimiing  of  a  time.^ 

It  may  be  regarded  by  some  as  the  expression  of  a  too 
extravagant  optimism  if  we  declare  our  belief  that  the 
world  is  entering  upon  a  new  time  in  its  history,  a  new 
order  of  things,  in  which  the  law  of  justice  and  the  spirit 
of  mercy  will  universally  prevail.  The  very  darkness, 
however,  of  the  present  time  creates  a  persistent  belief 
that  there  must  be  some  brighter  Kght  ahead.  No  robust 
spirit  can  be  permanently  pessimistic.  You  are  called  to 
play  a  part  in  the  building  of  a  new  world. 

THE  HIGHER  PATRIOTISM  2 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  various  notions  of  patriotism 
that  have  prevailed  in  the  centuries  past.  If  we  should 
go  back  to  the  earliest  times  we  would  find  that  the 

^Tennyson,  "Guinevere." 

2  An  editorial  in  The  Christian  Work  for  November  18,  1916.     Used 
by  permission  of  the  editor. 


162  The  American  Spirit 

essential  idea  of  patriotism  consisted,  for  the  most  part, 
in  the  passion  to  destroy  the  rival  tAbe.  "If  we  are  to 
live  and  flourish,  they  must  diej'yrSLncient  history  was 
saturated  with  this  idea.  Assyria  for  the  sake  of  her  own 
glory  must  conquer  Syria  and  all  the  lesser  nations. 
Babylon  in  her  turn  must  conquer  Assyria.  The  Medes 
and  Persians  in  their  turn  must  conquer  Babylon. 
Alexander  the  Great,  for  the  sake  of  making  his  empire 
glorious,  must  bring  under  tribute  every  tribe  and  nation 
under  the  sun.  And  Rome  in  coming  to  the  fullness  of  her 
power  must  exact  of  all  the  world  complete  subjugation, 
in  order  that  Rome  may  live.  Carthago  delenda  est.  The 
Caesars  who  bring  back  to  Rome  the  most  imposing  pro- 
cession of  captive  nations  in  their  train,  these  are  Romans 
indeed  and  worthy  to  be  enrolled  among  the  gods.  Nor 
did  the  ancient  Hebrews  show  themselves  immune  to  the 
toxin  of  this  barbarous  idea  of  patriotism.  In  one  of 
the  Old  Testament  books  their  sentiment  toward  rival 
nations  is  mercilessly  brought  to  Hght  and  most  ruthlessly 
ridiculed.  Jonah  is  presented  to  us  as  a  type  of  the  old- 
style  patriotism,  for  he,  too,  can  find  his  country's  chiefest 
glory  only  in  the  complete  destruction  of  her  rivals. 
Under  the  compulsion  of  the  Lord,  through  the  remarkable 
behavior  of  a  great  fish,  to  Nineveh  he  finally  went  and 
sounded  the  note  of  warning,  with  precisely  the  result 
which  he  feared :  Nineveh  repented  and  the  Lord  spared 
the  city.  But  so  grievous  was  the  disappointment  of 
this  narrow-minded  patriot  of  the  baser  sort  that  he  sat 
under  his  little  booth  and  requested  for  himself  that  he 
might  die.  There  was  now  nothing  for  him  to  live  for 
since  Nineveh  had  such/fn  excellent  chance  to  be  de- 
stroyed, but  missed  it  iT^atriotism,  according  to  the  old- 
fashioned  idea,  consisted  largely  in  doing  one's  utmost 


Patriotism  163 

for  the  undoing  and  destruction  of  the  rival  nation.  We 
can  readily  see  that  this  type  of  patriotism  has  not 
vanished  from  the  world.  The  Romans  said,  "Carthage 
must  be  destroyed,"  but  today  we  hear  sentiments  ex- 
pressed which  are  strangely  like  those  which  prevailed 
in  the  world  over  2000  years  ago  :  1"  There  is  but  one  way 
to  rid  the  world  of  the  'German  menace,'"  we  are 
told,  "Germany  must  be  destroyed."  Certainly  the 
same  kind  of  sentiment  prevails  in  Germany:  "There 
is  but  one  way  by  which  Germany  can  come  to  her  own, 
her  place  in  the  sun :  British  supremacy  throughout  the 
world  must  be  destroyed !  French  ambition  toward 
increasing  power  and  supremacy  must  be  curtailed  I" 
Surely  it  is  the  old  style  of  patriotism  still  prevailing. 

Eventually,  however,  the  world's  thought  advanced. 
The  old  definition  of  patriotism  was  revised  and  slightly 
improved.  It  ran  something  like  this:  "Patriotism 
consists  in  doing  one's  utmost  to  bring  to  power,  honor, 
and  glory  one's  own  nation,  and,  if  need  he,  at  the  expense 
of  other  nations."  We  observe  that  the  first  part  of  this 
revised  idea  is  quite  worthy,  but  that  the  second  part  is 
still  greatly  in  need  of  further  revision.  "Patriotism 
consists  in  doing  one's  utmost  to  bring  to  power,  honor, 
and  glory  one's  own  nation."  Surely  so.  It  is  a  worthy 
aim  that  one  do  his  utmost  to  make  his  country  strong, 
glorious,  honorable  among  the  nations  of  the  world.  It  is 
a  patriotic  ideal  that  makes  for  good  citizenship.  "My 
country's  government  must  be  the  best  government  in 
the  world,  the  cleanest  and  the  most  just ;  my  country's 
influence  must  be  the  strongest  and  best  influence  of 
any  country  in  the  world ;  my  country's  name  must  be 
the  highest  and  most  revered ;  my  country's  flag  must 
be  the  best  loved  and  the  most  respected  of  any  flag  of 


164  The  American  Spirit 

any  nation  upon  earth."  But  it  is  just  here,  alas!  tbat 
this  revised  idea  of  patriotism  fails.  It  fails  at  an  essen- 
tial point :  its  motive.  For  its  motive  evidently  is  this : 
*'My  country  must  be  the  greatest  and  the  best  for  the 
sake  of  her  own  power,  glory,  and  honor  among  the  nations 
of  the  world,  for  the  sake  of  her  own  self-gratification  and 
pride'';  which  motive,  of  course,  is  essentially  wrong 
because  it  is  purely  selfish.  No  man  can  seek  his  own 
glory  and  live.  He  shall  thereby  destroy  his  own  life. 
So  also  is  the  nation  subject  to  the  sanction  of  the  same 
stern  law.  A  nation  exists  for  the  same  reason  that  a 
man  exists.  No  man  exists  for  his  own  sake.  A  man 
exists  for  the  sake  of  his  race,  for  the  sake  of  lending  a 
hand  to  help  the  race  upward,  for  the  sake  of  doing  his 
part  in  giving  civilization  a  push  forward.  For  precisely 
the  same  reason  does  a  nation  exist.  A  nation  exists 
to  do  its  part  in  lifting  civilization  to  a  higher  plane ;  in 
contributing  permanent  values  to  the  Hfe  of  the  civihzed 
world ;  in  performing  its  own  mission  as  an  emancipator 
of  the  race  of  mankind,  and  as  the  guardian  of  the  sacred 
rights  of  humanity. 

Here,  then,  we  reach  the  new  idea  of  patriotism. 
Patriotism  consists  in  doing  one's  utmost  to  make  one's 
own  country  strong,  glorious,  honorable  among  the  nations 
of  the  world,  in  order  that  it  thereby  may  best  benefit  all 
humanity  and  serve  the  race.  The  higher  patriotism  is  so 
large  in  its  vision  and  so  broad-minded  in  its  spirit  that  it 
can  really  look  over  and  beyond  national  boundaries,  and 
declare,  "My  country  exists  not  for  the  sake  of  its  own 
greatness  and  glory,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  glory  and 
greatness  of  all  mankind!"  This  will  not  make  our  ^ 
national  patriotism  less,  but  it  will  greatly  ennoble  itju^'^"^ 
*'  I  will  endeavor  to  make  my  country  great  and  glorious : 


IPatriotism  165 

I  will  endeavor  to  make  her  reach  her  magnificent  ideals 
of  enlightenment,  freedom,  brotherhood,  not  simply  for 
her  own  sake,  but  in  order  that  thereby  she  may  be  able 
to  help  lift  up  the  whole  world  into  the  reahzation  of 
humanity's  magnificent  ideals  of  enlightenment,  freedom, 
brotherhood.  The  real  greatness  of  my  country  shall 
consist  not  in  the  achieving  of  strategic  positions  and 
larger  territory  upon  the  surface  of  the  earth  by  means  of 
her  force  of  arms,  not  in  achieving  commercial  supremacy 
by  virtue  of  her  superiority  in  merchandise  and  her 
tremendous  present  advantage  as  the  greatest  neutral 
nation  of  the  world,  but  the  real  greatness  of  my  country 
shall  consist  in  that  enlightenment  which  she  can  give 
to  nations  which  sit  in  darkness ;  in  that  freedom  which 
she  can  give  to  peoples  still  in  the  bondage  of  superstition, 
unjust  government,  and  false  rehgion;  in  that  spirit  of 
brotherhood  which  she  can  succeed  in  establishing  between 
all  the  nations  of  all  the  world  I"  Perhaps,  after  all, 
our  beautiful  national  hymn  is  just  a  bit  self-centered 
after  the  manner  of  the  old  idea  patriotism : 

Long  may  our  land  be  bright 
With  freedom's  holy  Ught. 

Very  well.     But  why  not  add  the  larger  prayer  ? 

God  of  all  peoples,  Thou 
Lord  of  humanity, 

To  Thee  we  pray. 
May  our  great  land,  thrice  blest. 
Bring  to  the  world  opprest, 
Truth,  light,  and  liberty. 

Hail !  glad,  bright  day. 


166                      The  American  Spirit  ] 

RECESSIONAL  i 

RuDYARD  Kipling  (1865-        )  i 

God  of  our  fathers,  known  of  old,  i 

Lord  of  our  far-flung  battle  line  —         ,  | 

Beneath  whose  awful  hand  we  hold  i 

Dominion  over  palm  £ind  pine  —  \ 

Lord  God  of  Hosts,  be  with  us  yet,  -i 

Lest  we  forget  —  lest  we  forget !  j 

The  tumult  and  the  shouting  dies  — 

The  Captains  and  the  Kings  depart  — 

Still  stands  Thine  ancient  sacrifice,  : 

An  humble  and  a  contrite  heart.  < 

Lord  God  of  Hosts,  be  with  us  yet,  \ 

Lest  we  forget  —  lest  we  forget  I 

Far-called  our  navies  melt  away  —  i 
On  dune  and  headlamd  sinks  the  fire  — 

Lo,  all  our  pomp  of  yesterday  ''■ 

Is  one  with  Nineveh  and  Tyre !  j 

Judge  of  the  Nations,  spare  us  yet,  j 

Lest  we  forget  —  lest  we  forget !  J 

If,  drunk  with  sight  of  power,  we  loose  ; 

Wild  tongues  that  have  not  Thee  in  awe  —  \ 

Such  boasting  as  the  Gentiles  use,  \ 

Or  lesser  breeds  without  the  law  —  3 

Lord  God  of  Hosts,  be  with  us  yet,  • 

Lest  we  forget  —  lest  we  forget  I  j 

For  heathen  heart  that  puts  her  trust  ? 

In  reeking  tube  and  iron  shard  —  .  \ 

All  valiant  dust  that  builds  on  dust,  i 

And  guarding  calls  not  Thee  to  guard.  ^ 

For  frantic  boast  and  foolish  word,  ^ 
Thy  Mercy  on  Thy  People,  Lord !    Amen. 

i 


VII.    THE  STORY  OF  THE  FLAG 


THE  STORY  OF  OLD  GLORY  ^ 

Who  suggested  the  combination  of  stars  and  stripes 
which  makes  Old  Glory  the  most  beautiful  banner  in  all 
the  world?  Nothing  really  authentic  on  the  subject  is 
known.  Various  ideas  have  been  suggested.  Some  writers 
claim  that  they  were  taken  from  George  Washington's 
coat  of  arms.  Others  claim  that  the  stripes  were  taken 
from  the  thirteen  stripes  in  the  banner  of  the  Philadel- 
phia Troop  of  Light  Horse. 

But  we  do  know  that  the  first  flag  from  which  this  com- 
bination of  Stars  and  Stripes  appeared,  was  made  by 
Betsy  Ross,  who  kept  an  upholstery  shop  at  her  little 
home,  No.  239  Arch  Street,  Philadelphia,  a  place  of  great 
interest  to  visitors  at  the  present  day.  That  was  the 
birthplace  of  Old  Glory .^ 

The  first  time  that  the  new  flag  of  the  United  States 
was  flown  in  battle  was  at  Fort  Stanwix,  renamed  Schuyler, 
where  Rome,  New  York,  now  stands. 

The  first  salute  ever  given  to  Old  Glory  by  a  foreign 
power  was  when  the  ship  Ranger,  commanded  by  Paul 
Jones,  entered  a  French  harbor  in  1778  and  received  a 
salute  from  the  harbor  forts. 

For  a  period  of  seventy  years  before  the  War  of  the  Revo- 
lution took  place,  the  red  ensign  of  Great  Britain  was  the 
flag  generaUy  used  by  the  American  colonies.  This  was 
called  the  Union  flag  because  in  the  upper  corner  was  a 
red  cross  of  St.  George  representing  England  and  a  white 
cross  which  represented  Scotland. 

1  From  anonymous  pamphlet  in  Kbrary  of  State  Normal  School, 
Milwaukee,  Wisconsin. 

2  Commonly  believed,  though  not  definitely  established. 

167 


168  The  American  Spirit 

During  the  first  two  years  of  the  Revolutionary  War, 
all  kinds  of  battle  flags  were  carried  on  land  and  sea.  Some 
of  the  designs  were  serious,  many  of  them  were  comic. 

One  of  the  most  peculiar  emblems  used  on  flags  of  that 
period  was  the  Rattlesnake.  The  motto  on  these  Rattle- 
snake flags  was,  *'  Don't  Tread  on  Me ! " 

Another  favorite  device  was  a  pine  tree,  of  which  several 
varieties  were  shown.  These  were  frequently  used  in  the 
early  part  of  the  Revolution. 

The  first  flag  to  show  thirteen  stripes,  but  having,  in 
place  of  the  stars,  the  crosses  of  St.  George  and  St.  Andrew, 
was  what  was  known  as  the  Great  Union  flag  hoisted  over 
the  American  camp  at  Cambridge  in  the  year  1776.  The 
design  of  this  flag  came  very  close  to  being  the  Star- 
Spangled  Banner. 

It  is  pecuhar  that  two  trees  are  closely  associated  with 
the  history  of  our  flag.  First,  the  Pine  Tree,  which,  as 
explained  was  used  on  some  of  the  earher  flags.  This 
device  also  appeared  on  silver  coins  of  the  Massachusetts 
colony  as  early  as  1650. 

The  second  tree,  and  one  far  more  important,  was  the 
Liberty  Tree.  This  was  a  grand  old  elm,  which  stood  in 
a  grove  on  what  is  now  Washington  and  Essex  Streets, 
Boston.  The  location  of  this  tree  is  at  present  marked 
by  a  building  on  the  front  of  which  is  a  bas-relief  of  the 
tree,  with  the  words,  "Liberty  Tree." 

This  old  tree  was  the  scene  of  many  patriotic  meetings. 
November  3,  1773,  the  citizens  of  Boston  gathered  under 
this  tree  to  consider  resolutions  prohibiting  the  consignees 
of  the  cargoes  of  tea  which  were  on  board  ship  on  their 
way  to  Boston,  from  selhng  the  tea  on  American  soil,  and 
demanding  that  it  should  be  promptly  returned  to  London. 
The  resolution  by  the  colonists  was  ignored,  resulting  in 


The  Story  of  the  Flag  169 

the  famous  *' Boston  Tea  Party,"  which  took  place 
December  6,  1773,  when  hundreds  of  chests  of  tea  were 
cast  into  the  bay. 

In  1777,  by  a  resolution  of  the  Continental  Congress  it 
was  provided  that  the  flag  of  the  United  States  be  thirteen 
horizontal  stripes,  alternate  red  and  white,  and  that  the 
union  have  thirteen  stars.  In  1794,  after  two  states  had 
been  admitted  into  the  Union,  Congress  chemged  this  so 
that  the  stripes  and  stars  should  be  fifteen  each. 

But  as  the  number  of  states  rapidly  increased,  it  was 
found  necessary  to  change  this  law  again,  and  in  1818  a 
resolution  was  presented  to  the  House  of  Representatives 
providing  that  the  flag  be  thirteen  stripes,  that  the  union 
have  twenty  stars,  and  that  on  the  admission  of  a  new 
state  one  star  be  added.  This  became  a  law  on  April  4, 
1818,  when  the  biU  was  signed  by  President  Monroe. 

Since  that  time,  whenever  a  new  state  is  admitted  the 
stars  in  the  union  are  shghtly  rearranged  so  as  to  accommo- 
date the  extra  star.  The  thirteen  stripes  wiU  in  all  probabil- 
ity forever  remain  as  they  are,  thus  preserving  for  aU  time 
to  come  the  remembrance  of  those  thirteen  original  states 
upon  which  this  great  nation  was  founded. 

When  the  stars  were  added  to  the  thirteen  stripes, 
there  was  a  good  deal  of  dispute  as  to  the  arrangement  of 
these  stars. 

Captain  Samuel  C.  Reid,  commander  of  the  famous 
privateer.  General  Armstrong,  was  invited  to  suggest  a 
design  for  the  proposed  arrangement  of  stars.  He  recom- 
mended that  these  be  formed  into  one  large  five-pointed 
star,  symbolizing  the  national  motto,  "E  Pluribus  Unum," 
and  that  a  steu*  be  added  for  each  new  state. 

It  was  soon  found  that  such  a  plan  would  not  be  prac- 
ticable, as  it  was  clear  that,  as  the  number  of  states  in- 


170  The  American  Spirit 

creased,  the  individual  stars  composing  the  one  large 
star  would  be  so  small  as  to  be  almost  indistinguishable. 

The  plan  of  arranging  the  stars  in  parallel  rows  was  then 
adopted,  and  this  arrangement  has  continued  ever  since. 

The  fate  of  the  first  flag  made  under  the  Act  of  Congress 
in  1777  is  shrouded  in  mystery.  It  is  not  known  whether 
it  was  ever  raised  in  defense  of  American  hberty.  Some 
very  important  events  of  American  history  have  never 
been  made  clear. 

Briefly,  the  above  is  the  history  of  the  evolution  of 
Old  Glory,  which  is  now  the  emblem  of  the  greatest  nation 
of  all  the  world.  It  stands  for  liberty  and  justice,  and 
wherever  it  is  unfurled  the  Steu-Spangled  Banner  is 
supreme  and  unconquerable. 


THE  STAR-SPANGLED  BANNERS 

Francis  Scott  Key  (1780-1843) 

Oh,  say,  can  you  see,  by  the  dawn's  early  Hght, 
What  so  proudly  we  hailed  at  the  twihght's  last  gleam- 
ing? 
Whose  broad  stripes  and  bright  stars,  through  the  perilous 
fight, 
0*er  the  ramparts  we  watched  were  so  gallantly  stream- 
ing; 
And  the  rockets'  red  glare,  the  bombs  bursting  in  air. 
Gave  proof  through  the  night  that  our  flag  was  still  there. 
Oh,  say,  does  that  Star  Spangled  Banner  yet  wave 
0*er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave  ? 

1  From   "Poems  of  the  Late  Francis  S.  Key,   Esq."     Published 
by  Robert  Carter  &  Brothers,  New  York,  1857. 


The  Story  of  the  Flag  171 

On  that  shore  dimly  seen  through  the  mists  of  the  deep, 

Where  the  foe's  haughty  host  in  dread  silence  reposes, 
What  is  that  which  the  breeze,  o'er  the  towering  steep, 

As  it  fitfully  blows,  now  conceals,  now  discloses? 
Now  it  catches  the  gleam  of  the  morning's  first  beam, 
In  full  glory  reflected,  now  shines  on  the  stream ; 
'T  is  the  Star  Spangled  Banner ;  oh,  long  may  it  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave  1 

And  where  are  the  foes  who  so  vauntingly  swore 

That  the  havoc  of  war  and  the  battle's  confusion 
A  home  and  a  country  should  leave  us  no  more  ? 

Their  blood  has  washed  out  their  foul  footsteps'  pollu- 
tion; 
No  refuge  could  save  the  hireling  and  slave 
From  the  terror  of  flight  or  the  gloom  of  the  grave ; 
And  the  Star  Spangled  Banner  in  triumph  doth  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave. 

0,  thus  be  it  ever,  when  freemen  shall  stand 

Between  their  loved  homes  and  the  war's  desolation. 
Blest  with  victory  and  peace,  may  the  Heaven-rescued 
land 
Praise  the  Power  that  hath  made  and  preserved  us  a 
nation ! 
Then  conquer  we  must,  when  our  cause  it  is  just, 
And  this  be  our  motto,  "In  God  is  our  trust  I" 
And  the  Star  Spangled  Banner  in  triumph  shall  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave  1 


172  The  American  Spirit 

HOW   "THE   STAR-SPANGLED   BANNER"   WAS 
WRITTEN  1 

Henry  Watterson  (1840-        ) 

Nothing  in  romance,  or  in  poetry,  surpasses  the  won- 
drous story  of  this  republic.  Why  Washington,  the  Vir- 
ginia planter,  and  why  Franklin,  the  Pennsylvania 
printer?  Another  might  have  been  chosen  to  lead  the 
Continental  armies :  a  brilliant  and  distinguished  soldier ; 
but,  as  we  now  know,  not  only  a  corrupt  adventurer, 
but  a  traitor,  who  preceded  Arnold,  and  who,  had  he  been 
commander  of  the  forces  at  Valley  Forge,  would  have 
betrayed  his  adopted  country  for  the  coronet  which  Wash- 
ington despised.  In  many  ways  was  Franklin  an  experi- 
ment, and,  as  his  famiUars  might  have  thought,  a  dan- 
gerous experiment,  to  be  appointed  the  representative 
of  the  colonies  in  London  and  in  Paris,  for,  as  they  knew, 
and  as  we  now  know,  he  was  a  stalwart,  self-indulgent 
man,  apparently  little  given  either  to  prudence  or  to 
courtUness.  What  was  it  that  singled  out  these  two  men 
from  all  others  and  designated  them  to  be  the  chiefs  of 
the  military  and  diplomatic  establishments  set  up  by  the 
provincial  gentlemen  whose  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  not  merely  to  establish  a  new  nation,  but  to  create 
a  new  world?  It  was  as  clearly  the  inspiration  of  the 
Almighty  as,  a  century  later,  was  the  faith  of  Lincoln 


1  On  August  9,  1895,  Colonel  Henry  Watterson  delivered  the 
memorial  address  at  the' dedication  of  the  monument  erected  over 
the  grave  of  Francis  Scott  Key  at  Frederic,  Maryland.  The 
selection  here  given  is  from  the  address  as  published  in  the  Louis- 
ville Courier-Journal. 
Used  by   permission  of  Colonel  Watterson. 


The  Story  of  the  Flag  173 

in  Grant,  whom  he  had  never  seen  and  had  reason  to  dis- 
trust. It  was  as  clearly  the  inspiration  of  the  Almighty 
as  that,  in  every  turn  of  fortune,  God  has  stood  by  the 
republic ;  not  less  in  the  strange  vicissitudes  of  the  Wars 
of  the  Revolution  and  of  1812,  than  in  those  of  the  war  of 
sections ;  in  the  raising  up  of  Paul  Jones  and  Perry,  of 
Preble  and  Hull,  when,  discouraged  upon  the  land,  the 
sea  was  to  send  God's  people  messages  of  victory,  and 
in  the  striking  down  of  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  and 
Stonewall  Jackson,  when  they  were  sweeping  all  before 
them.  Inscrutable  are  the  ways  of  Providence  to  man. 
Philosophers  may  argue  as  they  will,  and  rationalism 
may  draw  its  conclusions;  but  the  mysterious  power 
imexplained  by  either  has,  from  the  beginning  of  time, 
ruled  the  destinies  of  men. 

Back  of  these  forces  of  Ufe  and  thought  there  is  yet 
another  force  equally  inspired  of  God  and  equally  essen- 
tial to  the  exaltation  of  man,  a  force  without  which  the 
world  does  not  move  except  downward,  the  force  of  the 
imagination  which  ideaUzes  the  deeds  of  men  and  trans- 
lates their  meaning  into  words.  It  may  be  concluded 
that  Washington  at  Monmouth  and  Franklin  at  Versailles 
were  not  thinking  a  great  deal  of  what  the  world  was 
likely  to  say.  But  there  are  beings  so  constituted  that 
they  cannot  act,  they  can  only  think,  and  there  are  the 
Homers  who  relate  in  heroic  measure,  the  Shakespeares 
who  sing  in  strains  of  heavenly  music.  Among  the  pro- 
geny of  these  was  Francis  Scott  Key. 

The  son  of  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  he  was  born  August 
9,  1780,  not  far  away  from  the  spot  where  we  are  now 
assembled,  and  died  in  Baltimore  January  11,  1843.  His 
life  of  neeo-ly  sixty-three  years  was  an  unbroken  idyl  of 
tranquil  happiness,  amid  congenial  scenes;    among  kin- 


174  The  American  Spirit 

dred  people ;  blessed  by  wedded  love  and  many  children, 
and  accompanied  by  the  successful  pursuit  of  the  learned 
profession  he  had  chosen  for  himself.  Goldsmith's  sketch 
of  the  village  preacher  may  not  be  inaptly  quoted  to 
describe  his  unambitious  and  unobtrusive  career : 

.  Remote  from  towns  he  ran  his  godly  race, 
Nor  e'er  had  changed,  nor  wished  to  change,  his  place. 

Yet  it  was  reserved  for  this  constant  and  modest  gentle- 
man to  leave  behind  him  a  priceless  legacy  to  his  country- 
men and  to  identify  his  name  for  all  time  with  his  coun- 
try's flag. 

"The  Star-Spangled  Banner"  owed  very  little  to  chance. 
It  was  the  emanation  of  a  patriotic  fervor  as  sincere  and 
natural  as  it  was  simple  and  noble.  It  sprang  from  one 
of  those  glorious  inspirations  which,  coming  to  an  author 
unbidden,  seizes  at  once  upon  the  hearts  and  minds 
of  men.  The  occasion  seemed  to  have  been  created  for 
the  very  purpose.  The  man  and  the  hour  were  met,  and 
the  song  came ;  and  truly  was  song  never  yet  born  amid 
such  scenes.  We  explore  the  pages  of  folk-lore,  we  read 
the  story  of  popular  music,  in  vain,  to  find  the  like.  Even 
the  authorship  of  the  English  national  anthem  is  in  dis- 
pute. .  .  .  Key's  song  was  the  very  child  of  battle.  It 
was  rocked  by  cannon  in  the  cradle  of  the  deep.  Its  swad- 
dling clothes  were  the  Stars  and  Stripes  which  its  birth 
proclaimed.  Its  coming  was  heralded  by  shot  and  shell, 
and,  from  its  baptism  of  fire,  a  nation  of  freemen  clasped 
it  to  its  bosom.  It  was  to  be  thenceforth  and  forever 
freedom's  Gloria  in  Excelsis. 

The  circumstances  which  ushered  it  into  the  world, 
hardly  less  than  the  words  of  the  poem,  are  full  of  patriotic 
exhilaration.     It  was  during  the  darkest  days    of  our 


The  Story  of  the  Flag  175 

second  w£ir  of  independence.  An  English  army  had 
invaded  and  occupied  the  seat  of  the  National  Govern- 
ment and  had  burned  the  Capitol  of  the  nation.  An 
English  squadron  was  in  undisputed  possession  of  the 
Chesapeake  Bay.  There  being  nothing  of  interest  or 
value  left  within  the  vicinity  of  Washington  to  detain 
them,  the  British  were  massing  their  land  and  naval 
forces  for  other  conquests,  and,  as  their  ships  sailed  down 
the  Potomac,  Dr.  William  Beanes,  a  prominent  citizen 
of  Maryland,  who  had  been  arrested  at  his  home  in  Upper 
Marlboro,  charged  with  some  offense,  real  or  fancied, 
was  carried  off  a  prisoner. 

It  was  to  secure  the  liberation  of  this  gentleman,  his 
neighbor  and  friend,  that  Francis  Scott  Key  obtained 
leave  of  the  President  to  go  to  the  British  Admiral  under 
a  flag  of  truce.  He  was  conveyed  by  the  cartel-boat 
used  for  the  exchange  of  prisoners  and  accompanied  by 
the  flag  officer  of  the  Government.  They  proceeded 
down  the  bay  from  Baltimore  and  found  the  British 
fleet  at  the  mouth  of  the  Potomac. 

Mr.  Key  was  courteously  received  by  Admiral  Coch- 
rane ;  but  he  was  not  encouraged  as  to  the  success  of  his 
mission  until  letters  from  the  EngUsh  officers  wounded 
at  Bladensburg  and  left  in  the  care  of  the  Americans 
were  dehvered  to  the  friends  on  the  fleet  to  whom  they 
had  been  written.  These  bore  such  testimony  to  the 
kindness  with  which  they  had  been  treated  that  it  was 
finally  agreed  that  Dr.  Beanes  should  be  released;  but, 
as  an  advance  upon  Baltimore  was  about  to  be  made,  it 
was  required  that  the  party  of  Americans  should  remain 
under  guard  on  board  their  own  vessel  until  these  opera- 
tions were  concluded.  Thus  it  was  that,  the  night  of 
September  14,  1814,  Key  witnessed  the  bombardment 


176  The  American  Spirit 

of  Fort  McHenry,  which  his  song  was  to  render  illus- 
trious.   . 

He  did  not  quit  the  deck  the  long  night  through.  With 
his  single  companion,  the  flag  ofiicer,  he  watched  every 
shell  from  the  moment  it  was  fired  until  it  fell,  "listening 
with  breathless  interest  to  hear  if  an  explosion  followed." 
While  the  cannonading  continued  they  needed  no  further 
assurance  that  their  countrymen  had  not  capitulated. 
"But,"  I  quote  the  words  of  Chief  Justice  Taney,  repeat- 
ing the  account  given  him  by  Key  immediately  after, 
"it  suddenly  ceased  some  time  before  day;  and,  as  they 
had  no  communication  with  any  of  the  enemy's  ships, 
they  did  not  know  whether  the  fort  had  surrendered,  or 
the  attack  upon  it  had  been  abandoned.  They  paced 
the  deck  the  residue  of  the  night  in  painful  suspense, 
watching  with  intense  anxiety  for  the  return  of  day, 
and  looking  every  few  minutes  at  their  watches  to  see 
how  long  they  must  wait  for  it ;  and,  as  soon  as  it  dawned 
and  before  it  was  hght  enough  to  see  objects  at  a  distance, 
their  glasses  were  turned  to  the  fort,  uncertain  whether 
they  should  see  there  the  Stars  and  Stripes  or  the  flag 
of  the  enemy."  Blessed  vigil!  that  its  prayers  were  not 
in  vain ;  glorious  vigil !  that  it  gave  us  "  The  Star-Spangled 
Banner!" 

During  the  night  the  conception  of  the  poem  began 
to  form  itself  in  Key's  mind.  With  the  early  glow  of 
the  morning,  when  the  long  agony  of  suspense  had  been 
turned  into  the  rapture  of  exultation,  his  feeling  found 
expression  in  completed  lines  of  verse,  which  he  wrote 
upon  the  back  of  a  letter  he  happened  to  have  in  his 
possession.  He  finished  the  piece  on  the  boat  that  car- 
ried him  ashore  and  wrote  out  a  clear  copy  that  same 
evening  at  his  hotel  in  Baltimore.     Next  day  he  read 


The  Story  of  the  Flag  177 

this  to  his  friend  and  kinsman,  Judge  Nicholson,  who 
was  so  pleased  with  it  that  he  carried  it  to  the  office  of 
the  Baltimore  American,  where  it  was  put  in  type  by  a 
young  apprentice,  Samuel  Sands  by  name,  and  thence 
issued  as  a  broadside.  Within  an  hour  after  it  was  cir- 
culating all  over  the  city,  hailed  with  delight  by  the  ex- 
cited people.  Pubhshed  in  the  succeeding  issue  of  the 
American,  and  elsewhere  reprinted,  it  went  straight  to 
the  popular  heart.  It  was  quickly  seized  for  musical 
adaptation.  First  sung  in  a  tavern  adjoining  the  HoUi- 
day  Street  Theater  in  Baltimore,  by  Charles  Durang, 
an  actor,  whose  brother,  Ferdinand  Durang,  had  set  it 
to  an  old  air,  its  production  on  the  stage  of  that  theater 
was  the  occasion*  of  spontaneous  and  unbounded  enthu- 
siasm. Wherever  it  was  heard  its  effect  was  electrical, 
and  thenceforward  it  was  universally  accepted  as  the 
national  anthem. 

The  poem  tells  its  own  story,  and  never  a  truer,  for 
every  word  comes  direct  from  a  great  heroic  soul,  pow- 
der-stained and  dipped,  as  it  were,  in  sacred  blood.  .  .  . 

The  Star-Spangled  Banner  I  Was  ever  flag  so  beauti- 
ful, did  ever  flag  so  fill  the  souls  of  men  ?  The  love  of 
woman ;  the  sense  of  duty ;  the  thirst  for  glory ;  the  heart- 
throbbing  that  impels  the  humblest  American  to  stand 
by  his  colors  fearless  in  the  defense  of  his  native  land  and 
holding  it  sweet  to  die  for  it  —  the  yearning  which  draws 
him  to  it  when  exiled  from  it  —  its  free  institutions  and 
its  blessed  memories,  all  are  embodied  and  symbolized 
by  the  broad  stripes  and  bright  stars  of  the  nation's 
emblem,  all  live  again  in  the  lines  and  tones  of  Key's 
anthem. 

Two  or  three  began  the  song,  miUions  join  the  chorus. 
They  are  singing  it  in  Porto  Rican  trenches  and  on  the 


178  The  American  Spirit 

ramparts  of  Santiago,  and  its  echoes,  borne  upon  the 
wings  of  the  morning,  come  rolling  back  from  far-away 
Manila  ;  the  soldier's  message  to  the  soldier  ;  the  hero's 
shibboleth  in  battle  ;  the  patriot's  solace  in  death  I  Even 
to  the  lazy  sons  of  peace  who  lag  at  home  —  the  pleasm*e- 
seekers  whose  merry-making  turns  the  night  to  day  — 
those  stirring  strains  come  as  a  sudden  trumpet  call; 
men  and  women  spring  to  their  feet;  whilst  above  the 
sounds  of  revelry,  and  the  cadence  of  the  music,  rise  wave 
upon  wave  of  spontaneous  enthusiasm,  the  idler's  aimless 
but  heartfelt  tribute  to  his  country  and  his  country's 
flag. 

Since  *'The  Star-Spangled  Banner"  was  written, 
nearly  a  century  has  come  and  gone.  The  drums  euid 
tramplings  of  more  than  half  its  years  have  passed  over 
the  grave  of  Francis  Scott  Key.  Here  at  last  he  rests 
forever.  Here  at  last  his  tomb  is  fitly  made.  When  his 
eyes  closed  upon  the  scenes  of  this  Ufe,  their  last  gaze 
beheld  the  ensign  of  the  repubhc  "full-high  advanced, 
its  arms  and  trophies  streaming  in  their  original  luster, 
not  a  stripe  erased  or  polluted  nor  a  single  star  obscured." 
If  happily  they  were  spared  the  spectacle  of  a  severed 
Union,  and  "a  land  rent  by  civil  feud  and  drenched  in  fra- 
ternal blood,"  it  may  be  that  somewhere  beyond  the  stars 
his  gentle  spirit  now  looks  down  upon  a  nation  awakened 
from  its  sleep  of  death  and  restored  to  its  greater  and  its 
better  self,  known  and  honored,  as  never  before  through- 
out the  world. 


The  Story  of  the  Flag  179 

THE  AMERICAN  FLAG^ 


Joseph  Rodman  Drake  (1795-1820)  ? 

When  Freedom,  from  her  mountain  height,  ' 

Unfurled  her  standard  to  the  air,  \ 

She  tore  the  azure  robe  of  night,  j 

And  set  the  stars  of  glory  there.  , 

She  mingled  with  its  gorgeous  dyes  \ 

The  milky  baldric  of  the  skies,  •' 

And  striped  its  pure  celestial  white  ; 

With  streakings  of  the  morning  light ;  1 

Then  from  his  mansion  in  the  sun,  : 

She  called  her  eagle  bearer  down,  «        I 

And  gave  into  his  mighty  hand  \ 

The  symbol  of  her  chosen  land.  j 

Majestic  monarch  of  the  cloud,  ] 
Who  rear'st  aloft  thy  regal  form,  i 
To  hear  the  tempest  trumpings  loud,  ] 
And  see  the  lightning  lances  driven,  j 
When  strike  the  warriors  of  the  storm,  j 
And  rolls  the  thunder  drum  of  heaven.  | 
Child  of  the  sun  I  to  thee  'tis  given  J 
To  guard  the  banner  of  the  free,  i 
To  hover  in  the  sulphur  smoke,  j 
To  ward  away  the  battle  stroke,  i 
And  bid  its  blendings  shine  afar,  \ 
Like  rainbows  on  the  cloud  of  war,  ■ 
The  harbinger  of  victory !  i 
i 

iFrom    "The    Culprit    Fay  and    Other    Poems."     Published    by  ^ 

George  Dearborn,  New  York,  1835.  ' 


180  The  American  Spirit 

Flag  of  the  brave !  thy  folds  shall  fly, 
The  sign  of  hope  and  triumph  high, 
When  speaks  the  signal  trumpet  tone. 
And  the  long  Hne  comes  gleaming  on. 
Ere  yet  the  lifeblood,  warm  and  wet, 
Has  dimmed  the  ghstening  bayonet, 
Each  soldier  eye  shall  brightly  turn 
To  where  thy  sky-born  glories  burn. 
And  as  his  springing  steps  advance, 
Catch  war  and  vengeance  from  the  glance. 
And  when  the  cannon-mouthings  loud 
Heave  in  wild  wreaths  the  battle  shroud. 
And  gory  sabers  rise  and  fall, 
Like  shoots  of  flame  on  midnight's  paU : 
Then  shall  thy  meteor  glances  glow, 
And  cowering  foes  shall  shrink  beneath 
Each  ggJlant  arm  that  strikes  below 
That  lovely  messenger  of  death. 

Flag  of  the  seas !  on  ocean  wave 
Thy  stars  shaU  ghtter  o'er  the  brave ; 
When  death,  careering  on  the  gale. 
Sweeps  darkly  round  the  beUied  sail. 
And  frighted  waves  rush  wildly  back 
Before  the  broadside's  reeUng  rack. 
Each  dying  wanderer  of  the  sea 
Shall  look  at  once  to  heaven  and  thee. 
And  smile  to  see  thy  splendors  fly 
In  triumph  o'er  his  closing  eye. 

Flag  of  the  free  heart's  hope  and  home  I 
By  angel  hands  to  valor  given, 
Thy  stars  have  lit  the  welkin  dome, 
And  aU  thy  hues  were  born  in  heaven. 


The  Story  of  the  Flag  181 

Forever  float  that  standard  sheet  I 
Where  breathes  the  foe  but  falls  before  us, 
With  Freedom's  soil  beneath  our  feet, 
And  Freedom's  banner  streaming  o'er  us  ? 


THE  SYMBOL  OF  OUR  NATION  ^ 
Henry  Ward  Beecher  (1813-1887) 

A  thoughtful  mind,  when  it  sees  a  nation's  flag,  sees 
not  the  flag  but  the  nation  itself.  And  whatever  may 
be  its  symbols,  its  insignia,  he  reads  chiefly  in  the  flag, 
the  government,  the  principles,  the  truths,  the  history, 
that  belong  to  the  nation  that  sets  it  forth.  When  the 
French  tricolor  rolls  out  to  the  wind,  we  see  France. 
When  the  new-found  Italian  flag  is  unfurled,  we  see 
resurrected  Italy.  When  the  united  crosses  of  St.  Andrew 
and  St.  George,  on  a  fiery  ground,  set  forth  the  banner 
of  Old  England,  we  see  not  the  cloth  merely :  there  rises 
up  before  the  mind  the  idea  of  that  great  monarchy 
which,  more  than  any  other  on  the  globe,  has  advanced 
its  banner  for  liberty,  law,  and  national  prosperity. 

This  nation  has  a  banner,  too ;  and  until  recently, 
wherever  it  has  streamed  abroad,  men  saw  daybreak  burst- 
ing on  their  eyes.  For  until  lately  the  American  flag 
has  been  the  symbol  of  Liberty,  and  men  rejoiced  in  it. 
Not  another  flag  on  the  globe  had  such  an  errand,  or 


1  Mr.  Beecher  was  the  most  distinguished  and  popular  preacher 
of  his  generation.  During  the  Civil  War  he  represented  the  spirit 
of  America  to  England,  and  in  the  years  following  led  the  reUgious 
thought  and  popular  conscience  of  his  own  time. 
From  "The  National  Flag,"  in  " Freedom  and  War."  Published 
by  Ticknor  and  Field,  Boston,  1863. 


182  The  American  Spirit 

went  forth  upon  the  sea,  carrying  everywhere,  the  world 
around,  such  hope  to  the  captive  and  such  glorious  tidings. 
The  stars  upon  it  were  to  the  pining  nations  like  the 
bright  morning  stars  of  God,  and  the  stripes  upon  it 
were  beams  of  morning  light.  As  at  early  dawn  the 
stars  shine  forth  even  while  it  grows  light,  and  then 
as  the  sun  advances  that  light  breaks  into  banks  and 
streaming  lines  of  color,  the  glowing  red  and  intense 
white  striving  together  and  ribbing  the  horizon  with  bars 
effulgent,  so  on  the  American  flag,  stars  and  beams  of 
many-colored  light  shine  out  together.  And  wherever  this 
flag  comes,  and  men  behold  it,  they  see  in  its  sacred 
emblazonry  no  ramping  lion  and  no  fierce  eagle ;  no 
embattled  castles,  or  insignia  of  imperial  authority ;  they 
see  the  symbols  of  light.  It  is  the  Banner  of  Dawn; 
it  means  Liberty. 

Consider  the  men  who  devised  and  set  forth  this  ban- 
ner; they  were  men  that  had  taken  their  Uves  in  their 
hands  and  consecrated  aU  their  worldly  possessions  — 
for  what?  For  the  doctrines  and  for  the  personal  fact, 
of  liberty  —  for  the  right  of  all  men  to  liberty. 

If  any  one,  then,  asks  me  the  meaning  of  our  flag,  I 
say  to  him,  It  means  just  what  Concord  and  Lexing- 
ton meant;  what  Bunker  Hill  meant;  it  means  the 
whole  glorious  Bevolutionary  War,  which  was,  in  short, 
the  rising  up  of  a  vahant  young  people  against  an  old 
tyranny  to  establish  the  most  momentous  doctrine  that 
the  world  had  ever  known,  or  has  since  known,  the  right 
of  men  to  their  own  selves  and  to  their  liberties. 

The  history  of  this  banner  is  all  on  the  side  of  rational 
liberty.  Under  it  rode  Washington  and  his  armies ;  before 
it  Burgoyne  laid  down  his  arms.  It  waved  on  the  high- 
lands of  West  Point;    it  floated  over  old  Fort   Mont- 


The  Story  of  the  Flag  183 

gomery.  When  Arnold  would  have  surrendered  these 
valuable  fortresses  and  precious  legacies,  his  night  was 
turned  into  day,  and  his  treachery  was  driven  away, 
by  the  beams  of  light  from  this  starry  banner.  It  cheered 
our  army,  driven  out  from  around  New  York,  and  in  their 
painful  pilgrimages  through  New  Jersey.  This  banner 
streamed  in  light  over  the  soldiers'  heads  at  Valley  Forge 
and  at  Morristown.  It  crossed  the  waters  roUing  with 
ice  at  Trenton ;  and  when  its  stars  gleamed  in  the  cold 
morning  with  victory,  a  new  day  of  hope  dawned  on 
the  despondency  of  this  nation. 

And  when  at  length  the  long  years  of  war  were  drawing 
to  a  close,  underneath  the  folds  of  this  immortal  baimer 
sat  Washington,  while  Yorktown  surrendered  its  hosts, 
and  our  Revolutionary  struggle  ended  with  victory. 

How  glorious,  then,  has  been  its  origin!  How  glori- 
ous has'  been  its  history  I  How  divine  is  its  meaning  I 
In  all  the  world  is  there  another  banner  that  carries  such 
hope,  such  grandeur  of  spirit,  such  soul-inspiring  truth, 
as  our  dear  old  American  flag?  made  by  hberty,  made 
for  liberty,  nourished  in  its  spirit,  carried  in  its  service, 
and  never,  not  once,  in  all  the  earth  made  to  stoop  to 
despotism  I 

Accept  it,  then,  in  all  its  fullness  of  meaning.  It  is  not 
a  painted  rag.  It  is  a  whole  national  history.  It  is  the 
Constitution.  It  is  the  government.  It  is  the  free  people 
that  stand  in  the  government,  on  the  Constitution.  For- 
get not  what  it  means ;  and  for  the  sake  of  its  ideas, 
rather  than  its  mere  emblazonry,  be  true  to  your  country's 
flag.  By  your  hands  hft  it ;  but  let  your  lifting  be  no 
holiday  display.  It  must  be  advanced  "  because  of  thi 
truth.'' 


184  The  American  Spirit 

A  SONG  FOR  FLAG  DAY^ 

Wilbur  Dick  Nesbit  (1871-        ) 

Your  flag  and  my  flag ! 

And  how  it  flies  today 
In  your  land  and  my  land 
And  half  a  world  away  I 
Rose-red  and  blood-red 

The  stripes  forever  gleam ; 
Snow-white  and  soul- white  — 
The  good  forefathers'  dream ; 
Sky-blue  and  true  blue,  with  stars  to  gleam  aright  — 
The  gloried  guidon  of  the  day;    a  shelter  through  the 
night. 

Your  flag  and  my  flag  I 

And  oh,  how  much  it  holds  — 
Your  land  and  my  land  — 

Secure  within  its  folds  I 
Your  heart  and  my  heart  ■ 

Beat  quicker  at  the  sight ; 
Sun-kissed  and  wind-tossed, 
Red  and  blue  and  white. 
The  one  flag  —  the  great  flag  —  the  flag  for  me  and 

you  — 
Glorified  all  else  beside  —  the  red  and  white  and  blue  I 


Your  flag  and  my  flag!  i 

To  every  star  and  stripe  \ 

The  drums  beat  as  hearts  beat  i 

And  fifers  shrilly  pipe !  \ 

iFrom  "The  Trail  to  Boyland,"   by  Wilbur  D.   Nesbit.  Copy-                      j 

right,  1904,  by  The  Bobbs-Merrill  Company,  Indianapolis.  Used                      ] 

by  special  permission  of  the  pubUshers.  i 


The  Story  of  the  Flag  185 

Your  flag  and  my  flag  — 
A  blessing  in  the  sky ; 
Your  hope  and  my  hope  — 
It  never  hid  a  lie ! 
Home  land  and  far  land  and  half  the  world  around, 
Old  Glory  hears  our  glad  salute  and  ripples  to  the  sound ! 


FLAG  ETIQUETTE! 
Adjutant  Geiveral  H.  P.  McCain 

Many  inquiries  concerning  the  proper  method  of  dis- 
playing, hanging,  and  saluting  the  United  States  flag 
are  being  received  in  the  War  Department,  with  the 
evident  object  of  securing  some  authoritative  statement 
relating  to  the  subject. 

In  this  connection  it  should  be  remarked  that  while  it 
is  within  the  province  of  the  War  Department  to  prescribe 
rules  and  regulations  governing  the  matter  in  question 
for  observance  within  the  Army,  yet  it  is  beyond  its 
province  to  prescribe  any  such  rules  or  regulations  for 
the  guidance  of  civilians  or  to  undertake  to  decide  ques- 
tions concerning  the  subject  that  are  presented  by  civilians. 

There  is  no  Federal  law  now  in  force  pertaining  to  the 
manner  of  displaying,  hanging,  or  saluting  the  United 
States  flag  or  prescribing  any  ceremonies  that  should 
be  observed  in  connection  therewith.  In  fact  there  are 
but  two  Federal  laws  on  the  statute  books  that  have 
any  bearing  upon  this  subject,  one  the  act  of  Congress 
approved  February  20,  1905  (33  Stat.,  L.,  p.  725),  provid- 
ing that  a  trademark  cannot  be  registered  which  consists  of 

^Complete  text  of  "Flag  Circular"  issued  by  the  War  Depart- 
ment, Adjutant  General's  Office,  April  14,  1917.  , 


186  The  American  Spirit 

or  comprises,  inter  alia,  "the  flag,  coat  of  arms,  or  other 
insignia  of  the  United  States,  or  any  simulation  thereof,'* 
and  the  other  the  act  of  Congress  approved  February  8, 
1917  (Public  —  No.  305  —  64th  Congress),  providing  cer- 
tain penalties  for  the  desecration,  mutilation,  or  improper 
use  of  the  flag  within  the  District  of  Columbia.  Several 
States  of  the  Union  have  enacted  laws  which  have  more 
or  less  bearing  upon  the  general  subject,  and  it  seems  prob- 
able that  many  counties  and  municipalities  have  also 
passed  ordinances  concerning  the  matter,  to  govern  action 
within  their  own  jurisdiction. 

Warning  against  desecration  of  the  American  flag  by 
aliens  has  been  issued  by  the  Department  of  Justice, 
which  has  sent  the  foUowing  notice  to  Federal  attorneys 
and  marshals : 

"Any  alien  enemy  tearing  down,  mutilating,  abusing, 
or  desecrating  the  United  States  flag  in  any  way  will  be 
regarded  as  a  danger  to  the  public  peace  or  safety  within 
the  meaning  of  regulation  12  of  the  proclamation  of  the 
President  issued  April  6,  1917,  and  wiU  be  subject  to 
summary  arrest  and  punishment." 

It  is  the  practice  in  the  Army,  each  day  in  the  year,  to 
hoist  the  flag  briskly  at  sunrise,  irrespective  of  the  condi- 
tion of  the  weather,  and  to  lower  it  slowly  and  cere- 
moniously at  sunset,  indicating  the  commencement  and 
cessation  of  the  activities  of  the  day,  and  to  display  it  at 
half  staff  on  Memorial  Day  (May  30)  from  sunrise  until 
noon  and  at  full  staff  from  noon  until  sunset,  and  also  on 
other  days  specially  designated  for  that  purpose  by  the 
proper  authority,  the  flag  always  being  first  hoisted  to  the 
top  of  the  staff  before  being  lowered  to  the  half  staff 
position. 

There  has  been  some  question  among  civilians  con- 


The  Story  of  the  Flag  187 

cerning  the  exact  location  of  a  flag  hung  at  "half  staff." 
Theoretically,  the  flag  is  always  hung  on  a  separate  staff, 
much  shorter  than  the  staffs  usuaUy  erected  on  buildings, 
and  as  a  consequence  a  flag  hung  at  half  staff  would  be 
located  much  higher  on  the  ordinary  flagstaff  than  under 
the  present  practice,  but  stiU  the  custom  of  placing  the 
half-staffed  flag  in  about  the  center  of  the  flagpole, 
whatever  its  length  may  be,  is  rather  generally  observed 
throughout  the  country,  and  this  Department  sees  no 
real  objection  to  this  custom. 

Considerable  discussion  has  arisen  throughout  the 
country  concerning  the  proper  manner  of  hanging  and 
displaying  the  flag  for  decorative  purposes.  As  already 
stated,  there  is  no  Federal  law  governing  the  subject, 
and  individual  opinion  differs  as  to  the  procedure  that 
should  or  should  not  be  followed.  It  has  been  suggested 
that  as  far  as  possible  the  hanging  of  the  flag  should  be 
restricted  to  suspending  it  from  a  flagpole,  in  the  regular 
way,  and  not  to  displaying  it  otherwise ;  that  for  purposes 
of  decoration  only  the  national  colors  should  be  arranged 
in  the  form  of  bunting  and  not  used  in  the  form  of  the  flag ; 
that  if  it  is  nevertheless  the  desire  to  use  the  flag  for 
decorative  purposes,  it  should  always  be  hung  flat  whether 
on  the  inside  or  the  outside  of  buildings,  with  the  union 
to  the  north  or  east,  so  that  there  will  be  a  general 
uniformity  in  the  position  of  the  union  of  each  flag  dis- 
played; that  the  flag  should  rarely  be  displayed  in  a 
horizontal  position  or  laid  flat;  that  under  no  cir- 
cumstances should  it  be  hung  where  it  can  easily  be  con- 
taminated or  soiled,  or  be  draped  over  chairs  or  benches 
to  be  used  for  seating  purposes,  and  that  no  object  or 
emblem  of  any  kind  should  be  placed  above  or  upon  it. 
This  Department  sees  no  objection  to  flying  the  flag  at 


188  The  American  Spirit 

night  on  civilian  property,  provided  it  is  not  so  flown 
for  advertising  purposes. 

It  is  becoming  the  practice  throughout  the  country, 
among  civiUans,  to  display  the  national  flag  on  all  patriotic 
occasions,  especiaUy  on  the  following  days : 

Lincoln's  Birthday,  February  12 
Washington's  Birthday,  February  22 
Mothers'  Day,  Second  Sunday  in  May 

Memorial  Day,  May  30 

Flag  Day,  June  14 

Independence  Day,         July  4 

In  certain  localities  other  special  days  are  observed  in  the 
same  manner. 

It  seems  to  be  appropriate  that  where  several  flags  or 
emblems  are  displayed  on  a  pole,  or  otherwise,  the  United 
States  flag  should  always  be  hoisted  first  and  hung  or  dis- 
played at  the  top ;  that  in  any  parade  the  United  States 
flag  should  always  have  the  place  of  honor,  and  that  the 
flag  should  never  be  hung  or  displayed  with  the  union 
down  except  as  a  signal  of  distress  at  sea. 

Existing  regulations  governing  the  Army  provide  that 
when  officers  and  enlisted  men  pass  the  national  flag,  not 
encased,  they  will  render  honors  as  follows  :  If  in  civilian 
dress  and  covered,  they  will  uncover,  holding  the  headdress 
opposite  the  left  shoulder  with  the  right  hand ;  if  un- 
covered, they  will  salute  with  the  right-hand  salute.  A 
flag  unfurled  and  hung  in  a  room  in  which  officers  or  en- 
listed men  of  the  Army  are  present  will  be  saluted  by  them 
the  first  time  they  may  have  occasion  to  pass  it,  but  not 
thereafter.     The  hand  salute  is  as  follows  : 

"Raise  the  right  hand  smartly  tiU  the  tip  of  the  fore- 
finger touches  the  lower  part  of  the  headdress  above  the 


The  Story  of  the  Flag  189 

right  eye,  thumb  and  fingers  extended  and  joined,  palm  to 
left,  forearm  inclined  to  about  forty-five  degrees,  hand 
and  wrist  straight;  at  the  same  time  look  toward  the 
person  saluted. 

"Drop  the  arm  smartly  to  the  side.** 

No  anthem,  hymn,  or  musical  air  has  been  recognized 
by  any  Federal  law  as  the  national  anthem,  hymn,  or  air, 
but  Army  and  Navy  regulations  provide  that  the  musi- 
cal composition  familiarly  known  as  '*  The  Star-Spangled 
Banner"  shall  be  recognized  as  the  national  air  of  the 
United  States  of  America.  It  should  be  stated,  however, 
that  these  regulations  are  binding  only  upon  the  personnel 
of  the  mihtary  and  naval  service. 

Whenever  the  national  air  is  played  at  any  place  where 
persons  belonging  to  the  military  or  naval  service  are 
present,  all  officers  and  enlisted  men  not  in  formation 
are  required  to  stand  at  attention,  facing  toward  the 
music,  excepting  when  the  flag  is  being  lowered  at  sunset, 
on  which  occasion  they  are  required  to  face  toward  the 
flag.  If  in  civihan  dress  and  uncovered,  they  are  required 
to  stand  and  salute  at  the  first  note  of  the  air,  retaining 
the  position  of  salute  until  the  last  note  of  the  air  is 
played.  If  in  civilian  dress  and  covered,  they  are  required 
to  stand  and  uncover  at  the  first  note  of  the  air,  holding 
the  headdress  opposite  the  left  shoulder  until  the  last 
note  is  played,  excepting  in  inclement  weather,  when  the 
headdress  may  be  held  slightly  raised.  The  custom  of 
rising  and  remaining  standing  and  uncovered  while  "The 
Star-Spangled  Banner"  is  being  played  is  growing  in 
favor  among  civilians. 

Old  or  worn-out  flags  should  not  be  used  either  for 
banners  or  for  any  secondary  purpose.  When  a  flag  is  in 
such  a  condition  that  it  is  no  longer  a  fitting  emblem  for 


190  The  American  Spirit 

display,  it  should  not  be  cast  aside  nor  used  in  any  way  that 
might  be  viewed  as  disrespectful  to  the  national  colors,  but 
should  be  destroyed  as  a  whole,  privately,  preferably  by 
burning  or  by  some  other  method  lacking  in  any  suggestion 
of  irreverence  or  disrespect  due  the  emblem  representing 
our  country. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  views  set  forth 
in  this  circular  are  merely  suggestive,  and  that  it  is 
not  the  intention  of  the  Department  to  give  them  out  as- 
authoritative. 


THE  MAKERS  OF  THE  FLAG^ 
Franklin  Knight  Lane  (1864-        ) 

This  morning,  as  I  passed  into  the  Land  Office,  The 
Flag  dropped  me  a  most  cordial  salutation,  and  from  its 
rippling  folds  I  heard  it  say:  "Good  morning,  Mr.  Flag 
Maker." 

"I  beg  your  pardon.  Old  Glory,"  I  said,  "aren't  you 
mistaken  ?  I  am  not  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
nor  a  member  of  Congress,  nor  even  a  general  in  the  army. 
I  am  only  a  Government  clerk." 

*'I  greet  you  again,  Mr.  Flag  Maker,"  replied  the  gay 
voice,  "I  know  you  well.  You  are  the  man  who  worked 
in  the  swelter  of  yesterday  straightening  out  the  tangle  of 
that  farmer's  homestead  in  Idaho,  or  perhaps  you  found 
the  mistake  in  that  Indian  contract  in  Oklahoma,  or 
helped  to  clear  that  patent  for  the  hopeful  inventor  in 

1  Address  delivered  by  Mr.  Lane,  Secretary  of  the  Interior  in  President 
Wilson's  Cabinet,  before  the  employees  of  the  Department  of  the 
Interior,  at  Washington,  D.C.,  on  Flag  Day,  19X4.  Used  by 
permission  of  the  author. 


The  Story  of  the  Flag  191 

New  York,  or  pushed  the  opening  of  that  new  ditch  in 
Colorado,  or  made  that  mine  in  lUinois  more  safe,  or 
brought  relief  to  the  old  soldier  in  Wyoming.  No  matter ; 
whichever  one  of  these  beneficent  individuals  you  may 
happen  to  be,  I  give  you  greeting,  Mr.  Flag  Maker." 

I  was  about  to  pass  on,  when  The  Flag  stopped  me  with 
these  words : 

"Yesterday  the  President  spoke  a  word  that  made 
happier  the  future  of  ten  million  peons  in  Mexico ;  but 
that  act  looms  no  larger  on  the  flag  than  the  struggle 
which  the  boy  in  Georgia  is  making  to  win  the  Corn  Club 
prize  this  summer. 

"Yesterday  the  Congress  spoke  a  word  which  will  open 
the  door  of  Alaska ;  but  a  mother  in  Michigan  worked 
from  sunrise  until  far  into  the  night,  to  give  her  boy  an 
education.     She,  too,  is  making  the  flag. 

"Yesterday  we  made  a  new  law  to  prevent  financial 
panics,  and  yesterday,  maybe,  a  school  teacher  in  Ohio 
taught  his  first  letters  to  a  boy  who  will  one  day  write  a 
song  that  will  give  cheer  to  the  millions  of  our  race.  We 
are  all  making  the  flag." 

"But,"  I  said  impatiently,  "these  people  were  only 
working ! " 

Then  came  a  great  shout  from  The  Flag : 

"The  work  that  we  do  is  the  making  of  the  flag. 

"  I  am  not  the  flag ;  not  at  aU.     I  am  but  its  shadow. 

"I  am  whatever  you  make  me,  nothing  more. 

"I  am  your  behef  in  yourself,  your  dream  of  what  a 
People  may  become. 

"I  five  a  changing  life,  a  life  of  moods  and  passions,  of 
heartbreaks  and  tired  muscles. 

"Sometimes  I  am  strong  with  pride,  when  men  do  an 
honest  work,  fitting  the  rails  together  truly. 


192  The  American  Spirit 

"Sometimes  I  droop,  for  then  purpose  has  gone  from 
me,  and  cynically  I  play  the  coward. 

*' Sometimes  I  am  loud,  garish,  and  full  of  that  ego  that 
blasts  judgment. 

"But  always,  I  am  all  that  you  hope  to  be,  and  have 
the  courage  to  try  for. 

"I  am  song  and  fear,  struggle  and  panic,  and  ennobling 
hope. 

"I  am  the  day's  work  of  the  weakest  man,  and  Jthe 
largest  dream  of  the  most  daring. 

"I  am  the  Constitution  and  the  courts,  statutes  and 
the  statute  makers,  soldier  and  dreadnaught,  drayman 
and  street  sweep,  cook,  counselor,  and  clerk. 

"I  am  the  battle  of  yesterday,  and  the  mistake  of  to- 
morrow. 

"  I  am  the  mystery  of  the  men  who  do  without  knowing 
why. 

"  I  am  the  clutch  of  an  idea,  and  the  reasoned  purpose 
of  resolution. 

"I  am  no  more  than  what  you  believe  me  to  be  and  I 
am  all  that  you  beUeve  I  can  be. 

"  I  am  what  you  make  me,  nothing  more. 

"I  swing  before  your  eyes  as  a  bright  gleam  of  color,  a 
symbol  of  yourself,  the  pictured  suggestion  of  that  big 
thing  which  makes  this  nation.  My  stars  and  my  stripes 
are  your  dream  and  your  labors.  They  are  bright  with 
cheer,  brilliant  with  courage,  firm  with  faith,  because 
you  have  made  them  so  out  of  your  hearts.  For  you 
are  the  makers  of  the  flag,  and  it  is  well  that  you  glory  in 
the  making." 


The  Story  of  the  Flag  193                    ! 

THE  NAME  OF  OLD  GLORY  ^  \ 

James  Whitcomb  Riley  (1853-1917)  ' 

I  i 

Old  Glory  I  say,  who,  :; 

By  the  ships  and  the  crew,  ! 

And  the  long,  blended  ranks  of  the  gray  and  the  blue,  —  ' 

Who  gave  you,  Old  Glory,  the  name  that  you  bear  J 

With  such  pride  everywhere  J 

As  you  cast  yourself  free  to  the  rapturous  air  ^ 

And  leap  out  full-length,  as  we're  wanting  you  to  ?  'i 

Who  gave  you  that  name  with  the  ring  of  the  same,  \ 

And  the  honor  and  fame  so  becoming  to  you  ?  \ 

Your  stripes  stroked  in  ripples  of  white  and  of  red,  i 
With  your  stars  at  their  glittering  best  overhead  — 

By  day  or  by  night  j 

Their  dehghtfullest  light  1 

Laughing  down  from  their  Uttle  square  heaven  of  blue  I  ^ 

Who  gave  you  the  name  of  Old  Glory  ?  —  say,  who  —  ; 

Who  gave  you  the  name  of  Old  Glory?  i 


II 

Old  Glory,  —  speak  out  I  —  we  are  asking  about 
How  you  happened  to  "  favor  "  a  name,  so  to  say, 
That  sounds  so  famiUar  and  careless  and  gay 
As  we  cheer  it  and  shout  in  our  wild,  breezy  way  — 

^  From  the  Biographical  Edition  of  the  Complete  Works  of  James 
Whitcomb  Riley,  Vol.  V.  Copyright,  1913.  Used  by  special  per- 
mission of  the  publishers,  The  Bobbs-Merrill  Company,  Indianapolis. 


The  old  banner  lifted,  and  faltering  then,  \ 

In  vague  lisps  and  whispers  fell  silent  again.  i 


194  The  American  Spirit 

We  —  the  crowd,  every  man  of  us  calling  you  that  — 
We  —  Tom,  Dick,  and  Harry  —  each  swinging  his  hat 
And  hurrahing  "  Old  Glory !  "  Uke  you  were  our  kin. 
When  —  Lord !  —  we  all  know  we're  as  common  as  sin 
And  yet  it  just  seems  hke  you  humor  us  all, 
And  waft  us  your  thanks,  as  we  hail  you  and  fall 
Into  Hne,  with  you  over  us,  waving  us  on 
Where  our  glorified,  sanctified  betters  have  gone.  — 
And  this  is  the  reason  we're  wanting  to  know  — 
(And  we're  wanting  it  so!  — 
Where  our  own  fathers  went  we  are  willing  to  go.) 
Who  gave  you  the  name  of  Old  Glory  —  Oho  I  — 
Who  gave  you  the  name  of  Old  Glory  ? 

The  old  flag  unfurled  with  a  billowy  thrill 

For  an  instant,  then  wistfully  sighed  and  was  still. 


III 

Old  Glory,  the  story  we're  wanting  to  hear 

Is  what  the  plain  facts  of  your  christening  were,  — 

For  your  name  —  just  to  hear  it, 

Repeat  it,  and  cheer  it,  's  a  tang  to  the  spirit 

As  salt  as  a  tear ;  — 

And  seeing  you  fly,  and  the  boys  marching  by. 

There's  a  shout  in  the  throat  and  a  blur  in  the  eye 

And  an  aching  to  five  for  you  always  —  or  die, 

If,  dying,  we  still  keep  you  waving  on  high. 

And  so,  by  our  love 

For  you,  floating  above, 

And  the  scars  of  aU  wars  and  the  sorrows  thereof, 

Who  gave  you  the  name  of  Old  Glory,  and  why 

Are  we  thrilled  at  the  name  of  Old  Glory  ? 


The  Story  of  the  Flag  195 

Then  the  old  banner  leaped  like  a  sail  in  the  blast, 
And  fluttered  an  audible  answer  at  last. 


IV 

And  it  spake,  with  a  shake  of  the  voice,  and  it  said :  — 
By  the  driven  snow-white  and  the  Uving  blood-red 
Of  my  bars,  and  their  heaven  of  stars  overhead  — 
By  the  symbol  conjoined  of  them  all,  skyward  cast, 
As  I  float  from  the  steeple  or  flap  at  the  mast, 
Or  droop  o'er  the  sod  where  the  long  grasses  nod,  — 
My  name  is  as  old  as  the  glory  of  God. 
.  .  .  So  I  came  by  the  name  of  Old  Glory. 


VIII.    AMERICANS  ALL 


LIBERTY  ENLIGHTENING  THE  WORLD/ 
Edmund  Clarence  Stedman  (1833-1908) 

Warden  at  ocean's  gate, 

Thy  feet  on  sea  and  shore, 
Like  one  the  skies  await 

When  time  shall  be  no  more  I 
What  splendors  crown  thy  brow, 
What  bright  dread  angel  Thou, 

DazzHng  the  waves  before 
Thy  station  great  ? 

"  My  name  is  Liberty  I 

From  out  a  mighty  land 
I  face  the  ancient  sea, 

I  lift  to  God  my  hand ; 
By  day  in  Heaven's  light, 
A  pillar  of  fire  by  night, 

At  ocean's  gate  I  stand 
Nor  bend  the  knee. 

"The  dark  Earth  lay  in  sleep, 
Her  children  crouched  forlorn. 

Ere  on  the  western  steep 
I  sprang  to  height,  reborn ; 

^  Stedman,  who  is  remembered  both  for  his  poetry  and  his  critical 
essays  on  American  literature,  is  often  called  the  Banker-poet.  He 
was  a  banker  in  Wall  Street  for  over  thirty  years. 
From  Poems  of  Edmund  Clarence  Stedman.  Copyright,  1908, 
by  Laura  Stedman.  Published  by  Houghton  Mifflin  Gompany< 
Boston.      Used  by  permission  of  the  publishers. 

197 


198                      The  American  Spirit  j 

Then  what  a  joyous  shout                 •  i 

The  quickened  lands  gave  out,  5 

•        And  all  the  choir  of  morn  S 

Sang  anthems  deep.  ' 

"Beneath  yon  firmament  ] 

The  New  World  to  the  Old  J 

My  sword  and  summons  sent,  \ 

My  azure  flag  unrolled :  j 

The  Old  World's  hands  renew  1 

Their  strength ;  the  form  ye  view  ' 

Came  from  a  living  mold  * 

In  glory  blent.  \ 

*'0  ye,  whose  broken  spars  \ 

Tell  of  the  storms  ye  met,  \ 

Enter !  fear  not  the  bars  | 

Across  your  pathway  set ;  j 

Enter  at  Freedom's  porch,  j 
For  you  I  lift  my  torch. 

For  you  my  coronet  1 

Is  rayed  with  stars.  i 

i 

"  But  ye  that  hither  draw  \ 

To  desecrate  my  fee,  1 

Nor  yet  have  held  in  awe  J 

The  justice  that  makes  free,  —  \ 

Avaunt,  ye  darkhng  brood  !  [ 

By  Right  my  house  hath  stood :  \ 

My  name  is  Liberty,  i 

My  throne  is  Law."  ' 

0  wonderful  and  bright,  \ 

Immortal  Freedom,  hail  I  ] 


Americans  All  199 

Front,  in  thy  fiery  might, 

The  midnight  and  the  gale ; 
Undaunted  on  this  base 
Guard  well  thy  dwelling-place : 

Till  the  last  sun  grow  pale 
Let  there  be  Light  I 

AMERICA  1 

Bayard  Taylor  (1825-1878) 

Foreseen  in  the  vision  of  sages, 
Foretold  when  martyrs  bled. 
She  was  born  of  the  longing  of  ages, 
By  the  truth  of  the  noble  dead 
And  the  faith  of  the  living  fed  I 
No  blood  in  her  lightest  veins 
Frets  at  remembered  chains, 

Nor  shame  of  bondage  has  bowed  her  head. 
In  her  form  and  features  still 
The  unblenching  Puritan  will, 
Cavalier  honor,  Huguenot  grace, 
The  Quaker  truth  and  sweetness. 
And  the  strength  of  the  danger-girdled  race 

Of  Holland,  blend  in  a  proud  completeness. 

From  the  homes  of  all,  where  her  being  began. 
She  took  what  she  gave  to  Man ; 
Justice,  that  knew  no  station, 

Behef,  as  soul  decreed, 
Free  air  for  aspiration, 
Free  force  for  independent  deed  I 

^  From  "The  National  Ode,"  delivered  in  Independence  Square, 
Philadelphia,  July  4, 1876.  From  facsimile  copy  sent  by  the  author 
to  Joseph  R.  Osgood  &  Co.,  Boston,  July  5,  1876. 


200  The  American  Spirit 

She  takes  but  to  give  again, 

As  the  sea  returns  the  rivers  in  rain ; 

And  gathers  the  chosen  of  her  seed 

From  the  hunted  of  every  crown  and  creed. 

Her  Germany  dwells  by  a  gentler  Rhine ; 

Her  Ireland  sees  the  old  sunburst  shine ; 

Her  France  pursues  some  dream  divine ; 

Her  Norway  keeps  his  mountain  pine ; 

Her  Italy  waits  by  the  western  brine ; 
And,  broad-based  under  all. 

Is  planted  England's  oaken-hearted  mood, 
As  rich  in  fortitude 

As  e'er  went  worldward  from  the  island-wall 
Fused  in  her  candid  light. 

To  one  strong  race  all  races  here  unite ; 

Tongues  melt  in  hers,  hereditary  foemen 

Forget  their  sword  and  slogan,  kith  and  clan : 
*Twas  glory,  once,  to  be  a  Roman : 

She  makes  it  glory,  now,  to  be  a  man  I 

THE  MAKING  OF  AN  AMERICAN  ^ 

Jacob  Riis  (1849-1914) 

I  have  told  the  story  of  the  making  of  an  American. 
There  remains  to  tell  how  I  found  out  that  he  was  made 
and  finished  at  last.     It  was  when  I  went  back  to  see 

1  Jacob  Riis  came  to  this  country  from  Denmark  as  a  young  man 
and  made  his  own  way,  becoming  in  course  of  time  widely  known 
as  a  writer  and  as  a  worker  for  the  betterment  of  social  conditions 
for  the  poor  of  New  York  City. 

From  the  author's  autobiography,  published  under  the  title, 
"The  Making  of  an  American."  Copyright,  1901,  by  The  Mac- 
millan  Company,  New  York.  Used  by  permission  of  the  pub- 
lishers. 


Americans  All  201 

my  mother  once  more,  and,  wandering  about  the  country 
of  my  childhood's  memories,  had  come  to  the  city  of 
Elsinore.  There  I  fell  ill  of  a  fever  and  lay  many  weeks 
in  the  house  of  a  friend  upon  the  shore  of  the  beautiful 
Oeresund.  One  day  when  the  fever  had  left  me,  they 
rolled  my  bed  into  a  room  overlooking  the  sea.  The 
sunUght  danced  upon  the  waves,  and  the  distant  moun- 
tains of  Sweden  were  blue  against  the  horizon.  Ships 
passed  under  full  sail  up  and  down  the  great  waterway 
of  the  nations.  But  the  sunshine  and  the  peaceful  day 
bore  no  message  to  me.  I  lay  moodily  picking  at  the 
coverlet,  sick  and  discouraged  and  sore  —  I  hardly  knew 
why,  myself.  Until  all  at  once  there  sailed  past,  close 
inshore,  a  ship  flying  at  the  top  the  flag  of  freedom,  blown 
out  on  the  breeze  till  every  star  in  it  shone  bright  and 
clear.  That  moment  I  knew.  Gone  were  illness,  dis- 
couragement, and  gloom  I  Forgotten  weakness  and  suffer- 
ing, the  cautions  of  doctor  and  nurse  I  I  sat  up  in 
bed  and  shouted,  laughed,  and  cried  by  turns,  waving 
my  handkerchief  to  the  flag  out  there.  They  thought 
I  had  lost  my  head,  but  I  told  them.  No,  thank  God, 
I  had  found  it  and  my  heart,  too,  at  last.  I  knew  then 
that  it  was  my  flag ;  that  my  children's  home  was  mine 
indeed;  that  I  also  had  become  an  American  in  truth. 
And  I  thanked  God,  and,  Uke  unto  the  man  sick  of  the 
palsy,  arose  from  my  bed  and  went  home  healed. 


202  The  American  Spirit 

AMERICANS  OF  FOREIGN  BIRTHS 
WooDROw  Wilson  (1856-         ) 

This  is  the  only  country  in  the  world  which  experiences 
this  constant  and  repeated  rebirth.  Other  countries  de- 
pend upon  the  multiphcation  of  their  own  native  people. 
This  country  is  constantly  drinking  strength  out  of  new 
sources  by  the  voluntary  association  with  it  of  great  bodies 
of  strong  men  and  forward-looking  women  out  of  other 
lands.  And  so  by  the  gift  of  the  free  will  of  independent 
people  it  is  being  constantly  renewed  from  generation  to 
generation  by  the  same  process  by  which  it  was  originally 
created.  It  is  as  if  humanity  had  determined  to  see  to  it 
that  this  great  Nation,  founded  for  the  benefit  of  human- 
ity, should  not  lack  for  the  allegiance  of  the  people  of  the 
world. 

You  have  just  taken  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United 
States.  Of  allegiance  to  whom  ?  Of  allegiance  to  no  one, 
unless  it  be  God  —  certainly  not  of  allegiance  to  those  who 
temporarily  represent  this  great  Government.  You  have 
taken  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  a  great  ideal,  to  a  great 
body  of  principles,  to  a  great  hope  of  the  human  race. 
You  have  said,  "We  are  going  to  America  not  only  to  earn 
a  living,  not  only  to  seek  the  things  which  it  was  more 
difficult  to  obtain  where  we  were  born,  but  to  help  forward 
the  great  enterprises  of  the  human  spirit  —  to  let  men 
know  that  everywhere  in  the  world  there  are  men  who  will 
cross  strange  oceans  and  go  where  a  speech  is  spoken 
which  is  aUen  to  them  if  they  can  but  satisfy  their  quest 
for  what  their  spirits  crave ;  knowing  that  whatever  the 
speech  there  is  but  one  longing  and  utterance  of  the  humem 

1  From  an  address  delivered  before  a  gathering  of  recently  natu- 
ralized citizens  at  Convention  Hall,  PhUadelphia,  May  10,  1915. 


Americans  All  203 

heart,  and  that  is  for  hberty  and  justice."  And  while 
you  bring  all  countries  with  you,  you  come  with  a  purpose 
of  leaving  all  other  countries  behind  you  —  bringing  what 
is  best  of  their  spirit,  but  not  looking  over  your  shoulders 
and  seeking  to  perpetuate  what  you  intended  to  leave 
behind  in  them.  I  certainly  would  not  be  one  even  to 
suggest  that  a  man  cease  to  love  the  home  of  his  birth  and 
the  nation  of  his  origin  —  these  things  are  very  sacred 
and  ought  not  to  be  put  out  of  our  hearts  —  but  it  is  one 
t-hing  to  love  the  place  where  you  were  born  and  it  is  an- 
other thing  to  dedicate  yourself  to  the  place  to  which  you 
go.  You  can  not  dedicate  yourself  to  America  unless  you 
become  in  every  respect  and  with  every  purpose  of  your 
will  thorough  Americans.  You  can  not  become  thor- 
ough *  Americans  if  you  think  of  yourselves  in  groups,  i 
America  does  not  consist  of  groups.  A  man  who  thinks/ 
of  himself  as  belonging  to  a  particular  national  group  inj 
America  has  not  yet  become  an  American,  and  the  man 
who  goes  among  you  to  trade  upon  your  nationality  is  no 
worthy  son  to  live  under  the  Stars  and  Stripes. 

My  urgent  advice  to  you  would  be,  not  only  always  to 
think  first  of  America,  but  always,  also,  to  think  first  of 
humanity.  You  do  not  love  humanity  if  you  seek  to 
divide  humanity  into  jealous  camps.  Humanity  can  be 
welded  together  only  by  love,  by  sympathy,  by  justice, 
not  by  jealousy  and  hatred.  I  am  sorry  for  the  man  who 
seeks  to  make  personal  capital  out  of  the  passions  of  his 
fellow-men.  He  has  lost  the  touch  and  ideal  of  America, 
for  America  was  created  to  unite  mankind  by  those  pas- 
sions which  lift  and  not  by  the  passions  which  separate 
and  debase.  We  came  to  America,  either  ourselves  or  in 
the  persons  of  our  ancestors,  to  better  the  ideals  of  men, 
to  make  them  see  finer  things  than  they  had  seen  before, 


204  The  American  Spirit 

to  get  rid  of  the  things  that  divide  and  to  make  sure  of  the 
things  that  unite.  It  was  but  an  historical  accident  no 
doubt  that  this  great  country  was  called  the  "United 
States";  yet  I  am  very  thankful  that  it  has  that  word 
"United"  in  its  title,  and  the  man  who  seeks  to  divide 
man  from  man,  group  from  group,  interest  from  interest 
in  this  great  Union  is  striking  at  its  very  heart. 

It  is  a  very  interesting  circumstance  to  me,  in  thinking 
of  those  of  you  who  have  just  sworn  allegiance  to  this 
great  Government,  that  you  were  drawn  across  the  oceaq 
by  some  beckoning  finger  of  hope,  by  some  belief,  by  some 
vision  of  a  new  kind  of  justice,  by  some  expectation  of  a 
better  kind  of  life.  No  doubt  you  have  been  disappointed 
in  some  of  us.  Some  of  us  are  very  disappointing.  No 
doubt  you  have  found  that  justice  in  the  United  States 
goes  only  with  a  pure  heart  and  a  right  purpose  as  it  does 
everywhere  else  in  the  world.  No  doubt  what  you  found 
here  did  not  seem  touched  for  you,  after  all,  with  the  com- 
plete beauty  of  the  ideal  which  you  had  conceived  before- 
hand. But  remember  this :  If  we  had  grown  at  all  poor 
in  the  ideal,  you  had  brought  some  of  it  with  you.  A  man 
does  not  go  out  to  seek  the  thing  that  is  not  in  him.  A 
man  does  not  hope  for  the  thing  that  he  does  not  believe 
in,  and  if  some  of  us  have  forgotten  what  America  beheved 
in,  you,  at  any  rate,  imported  in  your  own  hearts  a  renewal 
of  the  belief.  That  is  the  reason  that  I,  for  one,  make 
you  welcome.  If  I  have  in  any  degree  forgotten  what 
America  was  intended  for,  I  will  thank  God  if  you  will 
remind  me.  I  was  born  in  America.  You  dreamed 
dreams  of  what  America  was  to  be,  and  I  hope  you  brought 
the  dreams  with  you.  No  man  that  does  not  see  visions 
will  ever  realize  any  high  hope  or  undertake  any  high 
enterprise.    Just  because  you  brought  dreams  with  you 


Americans  All  205 

America  is  more  likely  to  realize  dreams  such  as  you 
brought.  You  are  enriching  us  if  you  came  expecting  us 
to  be  better  than  we  are. 

See,  my  friends,  what  that  means.  It  means  that 
Americans  must  have  a  consciousness  different  from  the 
consciousness  of  every  other  nation  in  the  world.  I  am 
not  saying  this  with  even  the  shghtest  thought  of  criti- 
cism of  other  nations.  You  know  how  it  is  with  a  family. 
A  family  gets  centered  on  itself  if  it  is  not  careful  and  is 
less  interested  in  the  neighbors  than  it  is  in  its  own  mem- 
bers. So  a  nation  that  is  not  constantly  renewed  out  of 
new  sources  is  apt  to  have  the  narrowness  and  prejudice 
of  a  family ;  whereas,  America  must  have  this  conscious- 
ness, that  on  all  sides  it  touches  elbows  and  touches  hearts 
with  all  th&  nations  of  mankind.  The  example  of  America 
must  be  a  special  example.  The  example  of  America 
must  be  the  example  not  merely  of  peace  because  it  will 
not  fight,  but  of  peace  because  peace  is  the  healing  and 
elevating  influence  of  the  world  and  strife  is  not.  There 
is  such  a  thing  as  a  man  being  too  proud  to  fight.  There 
is  such  a  thing  as  a  nation  being  so  right  that  it  does  not 
need  to  convince  others  by  force  that  it  is  right. 

You  have   come  into  this   great  Nation  voluntarily  , 
seeking  something  that  we  have  to  give,  and  all  that  we  j 
have  to  give  is  this :  We  can  not  exempt  you  from  work.  I 
No  man  is  exempt  from  work  anywhere  in  the  world.  1 
We  can  not  exempt  you  from  the  strife  and  the  heart-/ 
breaking  burden  of  the  struggle  of  the  day  —  that  is  com- 
mon to  mankind  everywhere ;  we  can  not  exempt  you  from 
the  loads  that  you  must  carry.     We  can  only  make  them 
light  by  the  spirit  in  which  they  are  carried.     That  is  the; 
spirit  of  hope,  it  is  the  spirit  of  liberty,  it  is  the  spirit 
justice. 


,  is  the, 
►irit  ofl 


206  The  American  Spirit 

THE  FOREIGNER  IN  A  DEMOCRACY  i 

Carl  Schurz  (1829-1906) 

One  of  the  most  interesting  experiences  of  life  in  those 
young  Western  communities  with  not  a  few  of  which  I 
became  well  acquainted,  was  the  observation  of  the  edu- 
cational influence  exercised  by  active  local  self-government. 
I  met  there  a  great  many  foreign-born  persons  who  in 
their  native  countries  had  been  accustomed  to  look  up  to 
the  government  as  a  superior  power  which,  in  the  order  of 
the  universe,  was  ordained  to  do  everything  —  or  nearly 
everything  —  for  them,  and  to  whose  superhuman  wisdom 
and  indisputable  authority  they  had  to  submit.  Such 
people,  of  course,  brought  no  conception  of  the  working 
of  democratic  institutions  with  them,  and  there  is  some- 
times much  speculation  on  the  part  of  our  poHtical 
philosophers  as  to  how  the  newcomers  can  safely  be  in- 
trusted here  with  any  rights  or  privileges  permitting  them 
to  pEU'ticipate  in  the  functions  of  the  government.  In 
point  of  fact,  there  will  be  very  little,  if  any,  serious  trouble 
whenever  such  people  are  placed  in  a  situation  in  which 
they  will  actually  be  obliged  to  take  an  active  and  re- 

*  Carl  Schurz  was  a  distinguished  American  soldier,  statesman,  and 
liberal  political  leader.  He  was  born  in  Germany  in  1829.  He 
engaged  in  the  revolutionary  movement  in  1848,  in  consequence  of 
which  he  was  forced  to  flee  from  his  native  land,  and  he.  emigrated 
to  the  United  States  in  1852.  He  became  a  general  in  the  Civil 
War,  served  as  ambassador  to  several  European  countries,  as  mem- 
ber of  the  Cabinet  of  President  Hayes,  as  senator,  and  always  as  a 
leader  of  liberal  political  and  progressive  social  movements.  Schurz 
represents  the  best  contributions  of  the  immigrant  citizen  to  the 
country  of  his  free  choice. 

From  "The  Reminiscences  of  Carl  Schurz,"  Vol.  H.  Copyright, 
1907,  by  the  McClure  Company.  Used  by  permission  of  the  pub- 
lishers and  of  Carl  L.  Schurz,  Esq. 


Americans  All  207 

sponsible  part  in  the  government  respecting  those  affairs 
which  immediately  concern  them  —  things  in  which  they 
are  intimately  interested.  Plant  such  persons  in  com- 
munities which  are  still  in  an  inchoate  formative  state, 
where  the  management  of  the  public  business  in  the 
directest  possible  way,  visibly  touches  the  home  of  every 
inhabitant,  and  where  everybody  feels  himself  imperatively 
called  upon  to  give  attention  to  it  for  the  protection  or 
promotion  of  his  own  interests,  and  people  ever  so  little 
used  to  that  sort  of  thing  will  take  to  democratic  self- 
government  as  a  duck  takes  to  water.  They  may  do  so 
somewhat  clumsily  at  first  and  make  grievous  mistakes, 
but  those  very  mistakes  with  their  disagreeable  conse- 
quences will  serve  to  sharpen  the  wits  of  those  who  desire 
to  learn  —  which  every  person  of  average  intelligence, 
who  feels  himself  responsible  for  his  own  interests,  desires 
to  do.  In  other  words,  practice  upon  one's  own  responsi- 
bility is  the  best  if  not  the  only  school  of  self-government. 
What  is  sometimes  called  the  "art  of  self-government" 
is  not  learned  by  masses  of  people  theoretically,  nor  even 
by  the  mere  presentation  of  other  people's  experiences  by 
way  of  instructive  example.  Practice  is  the  only  really 
effective  teacher.  Other  methods  of  instruction  will 
rather  retard,  if  not  altogether  prevent,  the  development 
of  the  self-governing  capacity,  because  they  will  serve  to 
weaken  the  sense  of  responsibility  and  self-reUance. 

In  discussing  the  merits  of  self-government  we  are  apt 
to  commit  the  error  of  claiming  that  self-government 
furnishes  the  best  possible  —  that  is,  the  wisest  and  at  the 
same  time  most  economical  —  kind  of  government  as  to 
the  practical  administration  of  public  affairs,  for  it  does 
not.  There  is  no  doubt  that  a  despot,  if  he  were  supremely 
wise,  absolutely  just,  benevolent,  and  unselfish,  might 


208  The  American  Spirit 

furnish  a  community,  as  far  as  the  practical  working  of 
the  administrative  machinery  goes,  better  government 
than  the  majority  of  the  citizens  subject  to  changeable 
currents  of  pubKc  opinion  —  in  all  things  except  one. 
But  this  one  thing  is  of  the  highest  importance.  Self- 
government  as  an  administrator  is  subject  to  criticism 
for  many  failures.  But  it  is  impossible  to  overestimate 
self-government  as  an  educator.  The  foreign  observer 
in  America  is  at  once  struck  by  the  fact  that  the  average 
pf  intelligence,  as  the  inteUigence  manifests  itself  in  the 
spirit  of  inquiry,  in  the  interest  taken  in  a  great  variety 
of  things,  and  in  alertness  and  judgment,  is  much  higher 
among  the  masses  here  than  anywhere  else.  This  is  cer- 
tainly not  owing  to  any  superiority  of  the  pubUc  school 
system  in  this  country  —  or,  if  such  superiority  exists, 
not  to  that  alone  —  but  rather  to  the  fact  that  here  the 
individual  is  constantly  brought  into  interested  contact 
with  a  greater  variety  of  things,  and  is  admitted  to  active 
participation  in  the  exercise  of  functions  which  in  other 
countries  are  left  to  the  care  of  a  superior  authority.  I 
have  frequently  been  struck  by  the  remarkable  expansion 
of  the  horizon  effected  by  a  few  years  of  American  hfe, 
in  the  minds  of  immigrants  who  had  come  from  somewhat 
benighted  regions,  and  by  the  mental  enterprise  and  keen 
discernment  with  which  they  took  hold  of  problems  which, 
in  their  comparatively  torpid  condition  in  their  native 
countries,  they  had  never  thought  of.  It  is  true  that, 
in  our  large  cities  with  congested  population,  self-govern- 
ment as  an  educator  does  not  always  bring  forth  the  most 
desirable  results,  partly  owing  to  the  circumstance  that 
government,  in  its  various  branches,  is  there  further  re- 
moved from  the  individual,  so  that  he  comes  into  contact 
with  it  and  exercises  his  influence  upon  it  only  through 


Americans  All  209 

variable,  and  sometimes  questionable,  intermediary 
agencies,  which  frequently  exert  a  very  demoraUzing  in- 
fluence. But  my  observations  and  experiences  in  the 
young  West,  although  no  doubt  I  saw  not  a  few  things  to 
be  regretted,  on  the  whole  greatly  strengthened  my  faith 
in  the  democratic  principle.  It  was  with  a  feehng  of 
religious  devotion  that  I  took  part  in  Fourth  of  July  cele- 
brations, the  principal  feature  of  which  then  consisted  in 
the  solemn  reading  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
before  the  assembled  multitude ;  and  the  principal  charm 
the  anti-slavery  cause  had  for  me  consisted  in  its  purpose 
to  make  the  principles  proclaimed  by  that  Declaration 
as  true  in  the  universaHty  of  practical  application  as  they 
were  true  in  theory.  And  there  was  the  regdization  of  the 
ideal  I  had  brought  with  me  from  the  luckless  struggles 
for  free  government  in  my  native  land. 


THE  LOYALTY  OF  THE  FOREIGN  BORN^ 
M.  E.  Ravage  (1884-        ) 

What  does  America  mean  to  me,  to  the  immigrant 
generally,  with  his  manifold  attachments,  his  double 
culture,  his  composite  point  of  view  as  an  outsider  and 
an  insider  at  one  and  the  same  time? 

I  am  glad  the  question  has  at  last  been  raised.  For 
a  whole  century  you  have  been  seeking  and  listening 
attentively  to  the  conflicting  opinions  of  foreign  travelers 
and  critics  on  your  institutions  and  character.  But  there 
was  a  foreigner  right  here  who  had  come  to  America  not 

^  An  extract  from  an  article  published  under  this  title  in  the  Century 
Magazine  for  June,  1917.  Used  by  permission  of  the  pubhshers 
and  the  author. 


210  The  American  Spirit 

as  a  sight-seer,  but  as  a  settler,  not  as  a  guest,  but  as  an 
invader,  not  to  look  you  over,  but  to  make  you  over.  Did 
you  ever  stop  to  ask  him  what  his  views  of  you  were? 
Did  you,  indeed,  think  that  he  had  any?  Because  the 
immigrant  was  inarticulate  you  concluded,  I  fear,  that 
he  was  insensible.  He  was  dumb,  and  you  thought  him 
blind  and  deaf  as  well.  Yet  all  the  time,  while  you  were 
ignoring  him  or  making  good-humored  jokes  about  him 
or  pitying  him  a  little,  he  went  his  way,  very  much  on 
the  alert,  registering  impressions,  making  mental  notes, 
and  laboriously  piecing  out  a  picture  of  America  which, 
as  I  shall  endeavor  to  show  you,  is  fundamentally  at 
variance  with  your  own,  if  not  hopelessly  antagonistic 
to  it. 

How  this  picture  of  America  originated  in  my  mind  — 
for  I  am  one  of  your  alien  Americans  —  and  what  it  is 
like,  it  will  be  hard  for  you  to  grasp  until  you  have  first 
understood  the  causes  that  impelled  me  to  forsake  my 
ancient  home  and  to  accept  voluntary  exile  in  yours. 
No  one,  I  assure  you,  embarks  upon  the  adventure  in 
a  light-hearted  mood.  In  one  sense  it  is  precisely  as  my 
native  friend  puts  it  —  I  was  driven  into  exile.  Not  from 
without,  pray  understand,  but  from  within.  My  own 
rebellious  spirit  was  the  spur.  I  revolted  against  the 
Old  World  —  against  its  folly,  its  insolence,  its  deg- 
radation. From  birth  onward  I  had  been  made  a 
victim  of  every  species  of  discrimination,  of  poverty,  of 
oppression.  I  suffered  unendurably  from  the  military, 
the  gendarme,  the  taxgatherer;  from  ignorance,  from 
bigotry,  from  snobbishness.  As  long  as  I  was  a  child  I 
submitted  to  it  all  unquestioningly  as  to  the  order  of 
nature.  I  took  hunger  as  a  punishment  from  Heaven, 
and  religious  persecution  as  a  divine  testing  of  my  faith. 


Americans  All  211 

When  I  asked  why  my  family  was  deprived  of  its  bread- 
winner for  months  at  a  time,  and  why  he  was  compelled 
to  drill  in  maneuvers,  and  why  a  strange  man  with  a 
badge  came  to  our  house  to  ask  for  money,  and  took  away 
our  table  silver  and  our  pillows  when  it  was  not  forth- 
coming, my  mother  told  me  with  tears  in  her  eyes  that 
it  was  the  law,  and  I  asked  no  more.  But  as  I  grew  to 
manhood  I  began  to  see  these  things  differently.  I  began 
to  see  that  class  distinctions  were  stupid,  that  oppression 
was  an  impertinence,  that  poverty  was  an  affront  to  the 
dignity  of  human  beings.  And  I  came  to  despise  the  Old 
World,  with  its  mischievous  egotism  called  nationality,  its 
narrowness,  its  distrusts,  its  prejudices,  its  willful  blind- 
ness to  the  clear  destiny  of  the  race,  its  obdurate  op- 
position to  the  aspirations  of  the  mass  of  mankind.  I 
wanted  violently  to  lay  hands  on  the  whole  outworn  pile 
and  set  it  tumbling.  But  as  I  could  not  do  that,  I 
emigrated  to  the  New  World.  ... 

I  emigrated  because  I  had  gained  a  new  faith.  America 
to  me  was  not  a  nation.  I  did  not  come  here  in  search! 
of  a  new  nationality.  She  was  not  even  a  country.  She( 
was  an  ideal.  It  seemed  to  me  that  humanity  had  started 
out  wrongly  in  the  Old  World,  had  erred  and  blundered 
and  floundered  to  its  own  destruction ;  then  a  hand- 
ful of  choice  spirits  had  risen  in  arms  against  the  decayed 
tradition  of  Europe,  determined  that  humanity  should 
have  a  new  start.  And  ever  since  that  time  the  dreamers 
and  the  rebels  and  the  heroes  of  all  nations  had  beaten 
a  fanhke  convergence  of  paths  to  her  gates.  She  had 
become  the  model  of  revolution  and  the  Mecca  of  revo- 
lutionists, from  France  to  China,  and  from  Kosciuszko 
and  the  forty-eighters  to  the  modern  Russieui  hundist. 
America  was  not  merely  the  New  World:   she  was  the 


212  The  American  Spirit 

new  life.  What  was  taking  place  here  was  not  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  new  nationality,  but  the  very  antithesis 
of  all  nationality.  The  American  people  were  an  inter- 
national society  of  lovers  of  liberty.  They  were  the  hope 
of  mankind.  They  were,  in  truth,  the  chosen  people, 
the  elect  of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

This  startling  departure  in  the  affairs  of  the  world  had 
given  expression  of  itself  in  several  notable  instances. 
There  could  be  no  mistaking  the  genuineness  of  America's 
mission.  The  hunted,  starving  Irish  had  been  welcomed 
and  fed  and  their  battered  souls  nursed  here.  The  Jew, 
for  centuries  misunderstood  and  mocked  and  suppressed, 
and  heaped  with  every  indignity,  the  stepchild  of  the 
nations,  the  target  of  the  bigot,  the  safety  valve  of  the 
tyrant  and  the  reactionary  —  the  Jew  likewise  had  been 
fraternadly  received  into  this  all-embracing  society, 
and  allowed,  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  his  long, 
heroic  exile,  to  live  in  peace  and  usefulness.  America 
had  engaged  in  two  wars,  one  for  the  liberation  of  the 
negro  from  her  own  backsliding  States,  the  other  to  free 
the  Cuban  from  the  yoke  of  the  Spaniard.  She  had 
even  gone  the  length  of  meddUng  with  the  private  affairs 
of  foreign  lands  by  abrogating  the  treaty  with  Russia 
and  by  sending  a  now  famous  note  to  Rumania,  much  to 
the  amusement  of  the  astute  diplomats  of  Europe  and 
the  shrugging  of  their  discreet  shoulders.  America 
seemed  resolved  to  become  the  quixotic  champion  of 
the  under  dog,  a  knight-errant  among  the  nations.  To 
become  one  of  such  a  society,  I  felt  no  price  was  too 
high. 

To  one  arriving  in  America  the  first  breath  of  her  air 
was  like  a  confirmation  of  faith.  The  reality,  indeed, 
seemed  like  a  wild  exaggeration  of  all  my  dreams.     Beside 


Americans  All  S13 

this,  what  a  poor,  dwarfed  thing  it  was  that  fancy  had 
pictured !  The  atmosphere  of  America  was  charged 
with  revolution.  Here  one  heard  as  much  of  hberty  and 
democracy  and  the  inalienable  rights  of  the  people  as  of 
Kuliur  in  Germany  or  of  the  empire  in  England.  For 
the  Old  World,  with  its  kings  and  its  nobles,  its  armies  and 
its  wars,  its  prejudices  and  its  intolerance,  there  was  that 
contemptuous  irreverence  that  the  enthusiast  of  a  new, 
burning  faith  has  for  the  unconverted.  I  was  in  the  midst 
of  a  world  of  kindred  spirits.  I  went  to  an  Independence 
Day  meeting,  and  was  amazed  at  the  fiery  utterances  made 
there  by  apparently  respectable  people  in  high  hats  and 
frock  coats ;  I  listened  with  a  heaving  of  the  heart  to 
the  enumeration  of  my  limitless  privileges  as  a  sovereign 
of  the  republic ;  and  my  teeth  chattered  at  the  thought 
that  any  moment  the  pohceman  who  was  hovering  in  the 
background  might  seize  the  inflammatory  orator  by  the 
collar  and  clap  him  into  jail.  But  I  glanced  around,  and 
saw  that  the  pohceman  was  yawning,  seemingly  bored 
to  extinction.  The  heresies  of  Europe  had  become  the 
commonplaces  of  America. 

There  was  no  government  in  America  that  anybody 
could  see,  —  none,  at  any  rate,  of  the  obtrusive,  interfer- 
ing, inquisitory  kind  that  had  been  the  bane  of  my  life 
at  home.  What  there  was  of  it  occupied  itself  in  dis 
tributing  cigars  and  maihng  garden  seeds  and  bulletins,  a 
government  of  helpful  servants  altogether  in  harmony 
with  my  theories  as  to  what  a  government  should  be. 
That  was  perhaps  the  most  striking  evidence  of  the  radical 
departure  the  New  World  had  taken  from  the  ways  of 
Europe.  America  seemed  dedicated  to  the  task  of  proving 
to  mankind  by  her  own  actual  practice  that  a  people  may 
manage  its  common  affairs  without  force  or  panic  and  with 


214  The  American  Spirit 

only  a  minimum  of  the  creaking  machinery  that  elsewhere 
was  thought  so  indispensable.  To  be  sure,  there  was  a 
White  House  in  Washington,  with  a  good  deal  of  the 
paraphernalia  and  the  gold  lace  of  officialism,  and  there 
were  American  representatives  abroad  dabbhng  in  diplo- 
macy, and  a  shadow  of  an  army  was  lounging  in  out-of- 
the-way  barracks ;  but  all  this  was  no  more  than  a 
decent  concession  to  the  usages  of  mankind,  the  youthful 
inspired  giant  deferring  to  the  weaknesses  of  senihty,  as  a 
philosopher  might  submit  to  the  cramping  absurdity  of 
a  dress  suit  when  addressing  a  gathering  of  fashionable 
old  ladies.  The  spirit  of  American  institutions  was  new] 
and  different.  ...  ^ 

I  do  not  know  what  Americanism  is  if  it  is  not  a  preju- 
dice in  favor  of  the  under  dog.  Have  you  not  observed 
this  tendency  in  the  foreign-born  American?  Has  it 
ever  struck  you  that  your  agitators  and  your  radicals 
and  your  trouble  makers  are,  for  the  most  part,  intelligent 
"foreigners"?  If  you  have  noticed  it,  have  you  asked 
yourself  why  ?  I  will  tell  you  why.  At  least  I  can  give 
you  two  broad  hints.  First,  it  is  because  the  immigrant 
is,  as  I  have,  I  hope,  made  clear  to  you,  a  revolutionist! 
He  at  least  is  a  thoroughgoing  democrat.  He  wants 
American  Hfe  to  be  as  free  as  its  promise.  Rightly  orj 
wrongly,  he  looks  upon  himself  as  the  spiritual  descendant 
of  the  founders  of  the  republic,  and  in  his  point  of  view 
lie  is  carrying  forward  the  great  American  tradition  of 
liberty,  justice,  and  equality  from  the  realm  of  politics 
l^to  the  domain  of  economy.  For  this  reason  you  cannot 
consistently  quarrel  with  him.  He  is  taking  you  at 
your  word.  He  is  naive  enough  to  believe  in  your  rev- 
olutionary protestations ;  and  while  you  may  declare 
him  a  simpleton  and  a  nuisance,  you  cannot,  I  think, 


Americans  All 


215 


save  your  face  and  be  severe  with  him  as  a  criminal. 
And,  secondly,  the  immigrant  American  is  almost  in- 
variably of  the  under-dog  class  himself.  He  it  is  who 
digs  your  subways  and  mines  your  coal  and  carts  your 
garbage  and  builds  your  roads  and  your  railways.  He 
does  the  better  part  of  your  physical  dirty  work. 
Wherefore,  no  matter  where  fortune  may  land  him,  no  I 
matter  to  what  class  he  may  ultimately  belong,  spiritually  \ 
he  will  remain  of  the  hand-to-mouth  order  with  whom  he  / 
started.  .  .  . 

But  the  spirit  of  America  is  as  vital  as  ever.  The 
esprit  de  corps  of  a  people  is  something  distinct  from  the, 
sum  of  all  its  individual  wills.  You  must  add  the  factor 
of  tradition,  a  certain  intangible  quantity  that  hovers  in 
the  air,  to  balance  the  equation.  I  took  stock  of  America's 
policy  in  her  deahngs  with  foreign  peoples,  and  told  myself 
exultantly  that  here,  without  a  doubt,  was  a  definite  break 
with  the  Machiavellian  tactics  of  Old  World  diplomacy. 
Conceive,  if  you  can,  of  any  European  chancellery  giving 
as  much  as  a  tolerant  ear  to  the  just  demands  of  an  out- 
raged state  of  the  insignificance  of  Colombia.  I  never 
tire  of  contrasting  our  own  behavior  with  China  in  the 
Boxer  indemnity  case,  in  the  four-power  loan  incident, 
and  in  a  multitude  of  lesser  relations,  with  that  of  the 
great  powers  toward  that  nation.  Our  godhke  patience 
with  an  obstreperous,  distraught  neighbor  like  Mexico, 
our  determination  in  the  face  of  intolerable  provocation 
and  temptation  to  be  fair  and  just  and  magnanimous 
toward  the  weak,  is  humane  to  the  point  of  quixotism. 
No  wonder  the  trained  diplomats  of  other  continents 
laugh  at  us,  and  our  own  fire-eaters  gnash  their  teeth. 
And  it  is  not  hard  to  imagine  the  merriment  of  those  world 
poHticians  at  our  philanthropic  adventure  in  the  Philip- 


/ 


216  The  American  Spirit 

pines.  "Schoolmastering,"  I  can  hear  them  say,  "is 
not  building  an  empire."  But  America  is  happily  not 
intent  on  "expansion." 

Internally  the  spirit  of  America  exhibits  itself  quite  as 
strikingly.  I  read  and  reread  the  President's  recent 
address  to  the  Senate/  and  my  mind  can  scarcely  credit 
my  eyes.  No  European  in  a  high  government  position 
would  ever  dream  of  making  any  such  "wild,  visionary" 
assertions.  They  would  not  enter  his  head.  His  entire 
training  and  antecedents  and  outlook  would  make  the 
thing  impossible.  Even  an  unofficial  person  would  think 
twice  before  making  himself  liable  to  be  sent  to  Siberia 
or  at  least  to  Coventry.  It  is  the  sort  of  thing  that  the 
initiated  scoff  at  and  label  idealistic,  amateurish,  revolu- 
tionary. But  that  is  one  of  the  distinctive  peculiarities 
of  America,  that  her  officials  are  often  revolutionists. 
The  people  who  in  Russia  and  Rumania,  and  even  in 
Germany  and  France,  would  be  the  ragged,  suspected, 
underground  "enemies  of  society"  are  in  America  at  the 
rudder  of  affairs.  A  fantastic  dreamer  with  silly  notions 
about  the  treatment  of  criminals  is  here  made  the  warden 
of  the  principal  prison  in  the  foremost  State  of  the  Union. 
A  quiet,  hterary  gentleman,  a  sociologist  of  the  millen- 
nium, is  the  commissioner  of  immigration  at  the  chief  port 
of  entry  to  the  United  States.  A  radical  publicist,  an 
enemy  of  exploitation  of  poor  by  rich,  becomes  a  judge  in 
the  highest  court  in  the  land.  A  rabid  preaching  re- 
former, whose  ideas  of  government  would  land  him  in  a 
Russian  jail,  is  elected  to  the  mayoralty  of  a  great  city. 
And  to  cap  the  chmax  of  the  whole  incredible  business, 
the  chief  executive  of  the  Union  is  a  university  doctrinaire, 
a  philosophical  student  of  statecraft,  a  theorist  with  a 
passion  for  showing  up  the  accepted  stupidities  of  the 
1  January  22,  1917. 


Americans  All  217 

traditional  notions  of  internal  and  international  govern- 
ment for  the  musty  shams  they  are. 

Now,  these  are  expressions  —  all  too  rare,  alas !  —  of 
that  spirit  of  American  humanity  for  which  I  have 
renounced  the  heritage  of  my  fathers  and  accepted  exile 
among  you  here.  To  this  I  am  loyal  with  all  the  strength, 
not  of  unreasoning  love,  but  of  conviction.  For  this  I  am 
ready  to  shed  my  blood  and  to  do  battle  against  my  own 
brothers,  just  as  your  ancestors  fought  against  their 
mother  country.  It  is  my  rehgion.  my  faith  in  a  higher 
destiny  for  the  race  of  man ;  and  woe  to  him  who  dares 
attack  it  in  the  vain  hope  of  transplanting  to  this  new  soil 
the  seed  of  European  discord  and  disaster  1  I  may  be 
mistaken  in  my  faith ;  perhaps  the  splendid  hope  of 
democracy  by  which  I  lay  such  great  store  is  only  a  foolish 
dream.  All  the  same,  it  is  the  only  bond  of  union  between  \ 
you  and  me.  It  is  the  basic  principle  upon  which  the 
great  international  society  of  America  is  built,  and  as 
long  as  it  retains  its  semblance  of  reahty,  you  have  my 
whole-heaited  support.  As  soon  as  you  have  convinced ,j 
me  that  that  principle  is  menaced,  you  need  have  no' 
doubts  of  my  loyalty. 

FROM  ALIEN  TO  CITIZEN  ^ 

Edward  A.  Steiner  (1866-        ) 

On  a  certain  never-to-be-forgotten  day  I  walked  to 
the  county  seat,  about  seven  miles  away,  to  get  my  papers. 


Mr.  Steiner  is  a  sociologist  and  author  of  distinction  who 
migrated  from  Bohemia  to  this  country  after  graduating  from  the 
University.     He  is  now  professor  in  Grinnell  College,  Iowa. 

From  "F^rom  Alien  to  Citizen."  Copyright,  1914,  by  Fleming  H. 
Revell  Company,  New  York.    Used  by  permission  of  the  publishers. 


218  The  American  Spirit 

What  seemed  to  me  should  be  a  sacred  rite  proved  to  be 
an  miinspiring  performeince.  I  entered  a  dingy  office 
where  a  commonplace  man,  chewing  tobacco,  mumbled 
an  oath  which  I  repeated.  Then  he  handed  me  a  docu- 
ment for  which  I  pgdd  two  doUeu-s.  When  I  held  the 
long-coveted  paper  in  my  hands,  the  inspiring  moment 
came,  but  it  transpired  in  my  own  soul. 

*' Fellow  citizen  with  the  saints!  Fellow  citizen  with 
the  saints !"     I  repeated  it  many  times  all  to  myself. 

I  scarcely  noticed  the  straight,  monotonous  seven  miles 
back.  I  was  travehng  a  much  longer  road ;  I  was  review- 
ing my  whole  hfe.  Far  away  across  the  ocean  I  saw  a 
httle  village  in  the  Carpathian  Mountains,  with  its  con- 
glomerate of  warring  races  among  which  I  had  hved,  a 
despised  "Jew  boy."    Loving  them  all,  I  was  hated  by  all. 

I  heard  the  flogging  of  the  poor  Slovak  peasants,  the 
agonized  cries  of  Jewish  men  and  women  incarcerated 
in  their  homes,  while  these  same  peasants,  inflamed  by 
alcohol  but  stiU  more  by  prejudice,  were  breaking  windows 
and  burning  down  houses. 

I  saw  myself  growing  into  boyhood  more  and  more 
separated  from  my  playmates,  until  I  lived,  a  youth 
without  friends,  growing  into  a  "man  without  a  country." 

Again  I  felt  the  desolation  of  the  voyage  on  the  sea, 
rehved  the  sweatshop  in  New  York,  the  hard  labor  in 
miU  and  mine,  tramped  across  the  plains  and  suffered 
anew  all  the  agonies  of  the  homeless,  hungry  days  in  Chi- 
cago. Then  came  the  time  when  faith  began  to  grow 
and  the  Christ  became  real :  the  reaction  from  a  rigid 
theology  and  a  distasteful,  dogmatic  atmosphere.  After 
that,  once  more  a  stranger  in  a  strange  but  holy  place, 
and  then  a  "fellow  citizen  with  the  saints!"  .  "Fellow 
citizen  with  the  saints  I" 


Americans  All  219 

It  is  no  wonder  that  strangers  like  myself  love  this 
country,  and  love  it,  perhaps,  as  the  native  never  can. 
Frequently  I  have  wished  for  the  careless  American  citi- 
zen, who  holds  his  franchise  cheap,  an  experience  like 
my  own,  that  he  might  know  the  value  of  a  freeman's 
birthright.  It  would  be  a  glorious  experience,  I  am  sure, 
to  feel  that  transition  from  subject  to  citizen,  from  scarcely 
being  permitted  to  say  "I,"  to  those  collective  words: 
"We,  fellow  citizens.*' 


CONFESSING  THE  HYPHEN  ^ 
Edward  A.  Steiner 

I  am  in  the  enviable  position,  denied  most  of  my  kind, 
in  which,  before  my  peers,  I  can  present  my  cause ;  and 
I  plead  guilty  to  the  charge  of  being  a  hyphenated  Ameri- 
can according  to  Webster  —  not  according  to  Roosevelt, 
I  am  proud  of  the  fact  and  happy  in  it.  .  .  .  That 
I  was  born  in  another  country,  subject  of  a  monarch,  I 
was,  for  certain  well-established  reasons,  unable  to  avoid. 
To  my  credit  be  it  stated  that  as  soon  as  I  discovered  my 
deplorable  condition  I  sought  to  make  amends  in  the  only 
way  I  knew ;  the  way  taken  by  milUons  before  and  after 
me  —  emigrating  to  a  country  which  was  generous  enough 
to  admit  us  all. 

Not  only  did  that  country  admit  us  to  her  shores,  she 
did  not  bar  our  way  into  her  "  Holy  of  Holies."  Thus 
we  were  bound  to  her  so  closely  that  we  became  "hyphen- 
ated" before  we  knew  it,  wedded  to  her  "for  better  and 

1  From  "Confessions  of  a  Hyphenated  American."  Copyright, 
1 1916,  by  Fleming  H.  Revell  Company,  New  York.  Used  by 
permission  of  the  pubhshers. 


J220  The  American  Spirit 

for  worse,  for  richer  and  for  poorer" ;  married  to  her  as 
swiftly  as  marriages  take  place  in  this  country,  where 
everything  is  frightfully  accelerated. 

We  were  bound  to  her  with  a  sense  of  loyalty  and  devo- 
tion which  the  native-born  American  cannot  always  feel. 
What  she  has  done  for  us  is  sufficient  to  bind  us  to  her 
"till  death  us  do  p£U"t." 

Again  speaking  for  myself,  I  had  quite  forgotten  that 
I  possessed  even  the  innocent  hyphen,  as  interpreted  by 
Webster,  not  by  Roosevelt.  There  was  not  a  drop  of 
American  blood  in  my  veins  when  I  landed  in  New  York 
scarcely  thirty  years  ago.  Yet  I  can  say  today  without 
a  bit  of  cant,  which  I  always  detest,  and  which  is  doubly 
detestable  in  these  trying  days,  that  if  you  drained  every 
drop  of  my  blood  —  and  I  am  wiUing  to  give  the  last 
drop,  if  needed,  if  thus  my  words  might  be  proved  — •  you 
would  find  in  my  veins  American  blood  only. 

I  regarded  myself  as  so  thoroughly  an  American  that 
I  forgot  the  very  names  of  the  ships  on  which  I  chroni- 
cally migrated  and  remembered  only  one  of  them,  which 
it  seemed  had  brought  me  here  —  the  Mayflower.  When- 
ever I  returned  to  the  land  of  my  birth  it  was  like  going 
to  a  foreign  country.  When  I  stood  before  the  Emperor's 
palace  in  the  city  of  Vienna,  with  no  great  patriotic  emo- 
tions stirring  in  my  breast,  I  could  hear  the  questioning 
voice  of  the  poet  ringing  accusingly  in  my  ears ; 

Breathes  there  the  man  with  soul  so  dead 
Who  never  to  himself  hath  said 
"This  is  my  own,  my  native  land"  ? 

and  I  had  to  admit  that  I  was  the  miserable  wretch  whose 
existence  he  doubted. 

When  my  face  was  turned  westward,  and  the  odors 
of  the  steerage  filled  my  nostrils,  then  indeed  I  knew  that 


Americans  A II  221 

I  was  going  home,  and  the  Alpine  horn  from  the  moun- 
tains, snow-crowned  and  glorious,  had  no  such  welcoming 
sound  as  the  fog  horn  from  the  low  dunes  at  Sandy  Hook. 

How  often  I  have  stood  among  thousands  of  my  kind 
on  the  great  ships,  out  of  which  millions  of  us  were  born, 
full-grown,  into  this  new  l£uid.  Men  and  women  were 
there,  going  back  to  their  native  land  from  which  they 
thought  themselves  as  yet  unweaned.  Many  of  them, 
more  successful  than  I,  were  returning  with  small  for- 
tunes which  they  intended  to  spend  in  the  towns  and 
villages  where  they  were  born  and  where  they  expected 
to  die.  They  soon  discovered,  however,  that  they  were 
pilgrims  and  sojourners  in  the  land  of  their  birth  and  again 
they  were  seeking  another  country,  "  even  an  Heavenly"  ; 
or,  to  use  the  language  of  the  street,  they  wanted  to  get 
back  to  "God's  Country." 

I  have  been  a  chronic  immigrant,  following  so  frequently 
the  trail  worn  by  millions  of  weary  feet  across  this  con- 
tinent that  it  has  become  a  sort  of  "White  Way"  for  me, 
straighter  than  that  on  Broadway,  and  not  so  dangerous. 
I  have  visited  every  foreign  colony  between  Angel  Gate 
on  thp  Pacific  and  Hell  Gate  on  the  Atlantic ;  and  while 
I  have  found  the  mother  tongue  surviving  in  mutilated 
form  among  the  older  generation,  and  discovered  that  the 
most  loyal  part  of  our  anatomy,  the  stomach,  still  craves 
for  the  leeks  and  garhcs  of  the  homeland,  I  have  also  found 
the  Spirit  of  America  brooding  over  these  ahens,  wooing 
them  and  winning  them,  while  but  very  few  do  not  finally 
yield  it  full  allegiance. 

I  have  guided  many  distinguished  foreign  guests  who 
came  here  to  study  the  strange  ways  of  this  country  which 
they  had  called  the  Dollar  Land.  If  they  were  discern- 
ing, and  some  of  them  were,  they  discovered  that  this 


222  The  American  Spirit 

country  is  held  together  by  a  finer  metal  than  gold  and  by 
a  nobler  symbol  than  the  eagle  of  our  coinage. 

They  found  that  although  there  have  come  here  in  the 
last  twenty  years  some  thirteen  millions  of  aliens,  broken 
bits,  torn  patches  of  all  nationahties  and  races,  we  are 
being  knitted  to  one  another  as  a  nation.  At  no  time 
in  our  history  has  the  sense  of  nationality  been  stronger, 
and  never  before  were  we  more  truly  the  United  States 
of  America  than  now. 

These  students  of  our  national  life  were  amazed  and 
confounded  as  they  observed  the  change  in  the  expres- 
sion, bearing,  and  deportment  of  the  peoples  whom  they 
knew  in  the  Old  World  as  sullen,  rebellious,  suspicious, 
and  incapable  of  cohesion. 


AMERICA  ALONE  1 
Rudolph  Rlankenburg  (1843-1918) 

I  came  from  foreign  shores  to  find  a  home  here,  and 
I  know  what  it  is  to  love  another  land;  but  I  want  to 
urge  upon  you  that  you  must  love  America  first  of  all. 
With  the  high  privilege  of  citizenship  in  this  great  country 
go  responsibiHties.  You  must  dedicate  yourselves  from 
this  day  to  America  alone. 

In  forswearing  allegiance  to  the  potentate  of  the  land 
from  which  you  came,  you  must  give  yourself  utterly 
to  the  United  States.  Let  your  motto  be  "America 
first,  last,  and  all  the  time."  No  matter  what  may  hap- 
pen in  the  world  at  large,  no  matter  what  befalls  the 

1  From  a  speech  made  by  Mayor  Blankenburg,  a  distinguished  re- 
form mayor  of  Philadelphia,  welcoming  President  Wilson  to  Phila- 
delphia, May  10,  1915. 


Americans  All  223 

country  you  love  that  you  left  behind,  our  first  allegiance 
is  to  the  country  of  our  adoption. 

The  motto  which  I  accepted  long  ago  as  my  own  is, 
*' Do  right  and  fear  not."  Don't  let  any  one  for  a  moment 
divert  you  from  the  thought  that  you  are  an  American 
forever  and  nobody's  slave.  Never  let  anybody  for  self- 
ish reasons  dictate  what  you  shall  do.  Let  no  one,  when 
age  shall  have  come  upon  you  as  it  has  upon  me,  point 
to  you  as  one  who  has  been  an  enemy  to  his  country,  who 
has  broken  his  oath  of  allegiance  I 


A  FAR  JOURNEY! 

Abraham  Mitrie  Rihbany 

It  was  no  easy  task  for  me  on  the  morning  of  that 
7th  of  October,  1881,  to  believe  my  senses  when  I  first 
experienced  that  weU-nigh  overwhelming  feeling  that  I 
was  really  in  the  great  city  of  New  York.  As  our  httle 
party  proceeded  on  across  Battery  Park  up  toward  Wash- 
ington Street,  I  felt  the  need  of  new  faculties  to  fit  my  new 
environment.  A  host  of  questions  besieged  my  mind. 
Was  I  really  in  New  York?  Was  I  still  my  old  self,  or 
had  some  subtle  unconscious  transformation  already  taken 
place  in  me?  Could  I  utter  my  political  and  religious 
convictions  freely,  unafraid  of  either  soldier  or  priest? 
What  were  the  opportunities  of  the  great  New  World 
into  which  I  had  just  entered?     What  was  awaiting  me 

^  Mr.  Rihbany    is   a    Congregationalist   minister    of   Boston,  who 
came  from  Syria  to  this  country  as  an  immigrant,  in  1881. 
From  "A  Far  Journey."     Copyright,  1914,  by  Abraham  Mitrie 
Rihbany.      Published  by  Houghton  Mifflin  Company,    Boston. 
Used  by  permission  of  the  publishers. 


224  The  American  Spirit 

in  America,  whose  life,  as  I  had  been  told,  was  so  vast, 
so  complex,  and  so  enlightened?  Whatever  the  future 
had  "of  wonder  or  surprise,"  it  seemed  that  merely  being 
in  the  United  States  was  enough  of  a  blessing  to  call  forth 
my  profoundest  gratitude. 

Nor  did  I  have  to  wait  very  long  for  tangible  evidence 
to  convince  me  that  America  was  the  land  of  liberty  and 
opportunity.  On  that  very  evening  my  eyes  beheld  a 
scene  so  strange  and  so  dehghtful  that  I  could  hardly 
beUeve  it  was  real.  Sitting  in  the  restaurant  early  in 
the  evening,  we  heard,  approaching  from  the  direction  of 
"uptown,"  band  music  and  the  heavy  tread  of  a  march- 
ing multitude  which  filled  the  street  from  curb  to  curb. 
Some  one,  looking  out  of  the  window,  shouted,  "It  is 
the  laborers !  They  are  on  their  way  to  Battery  Peirk 
to  hold  a  meeting  and  demand  their  rights."  That  was 
all  that  was  needed  for  me  to  dash  out  with  a  few  others 
and  follow  the  procession  to  the  near-by  park.  I  had  heard 
in  a  very  fragmentary  way  of  the  "united  laborers"  in 
Europe  and  America,  but,  while  in  Syria,  and  as  a  Turkish 
subject,  it  was  almost  beyond  me  to  conceive  of  working- 
men  in  collective  moral  and  poUtical  action.  The  pro- 
cession was  dotted  with  illuminated  banners  inscribed 
with  mottoes  which  I  could  not  read,  and  the  gathering 
must  have  been  that  of  some  "trade  union."  Reaching 
the  park  the  crowd  halted,  and  a  huge  mass  of  eager  men 
and  a  few  women  faced  the  impassioned  speakers.  What 
those  speakers  said  was  beyond  my  understanding.  I 
was  a  stranger  to  the  country,  the  English  language,  and 
the  political  and  social  activities  of  free  men.  From  some 
fellow  Syrians  who  understood  English  I  learned  that 
those  workingmen  were  protesting  against  certain  issues 
which  I  cannot  now  recall.     I  was  intensely  interested 


Americans  All  225 

in  the  conduct  of  the  few  policemen  present.  They  walked 
about  leisurely  around  that  human  mass,  toyed  with  their 
clubs,  and  seemed  utterly  indifferent  to  all  that  was 
going  on.  The  orderly  conduct  of  the  meeting  and  the 
rational  way  of  protesting  against  wrongs,  real  or  imag- 
inary, was  to  me  poetry  set  to  music.  How  I  wished  I 
could  return  to  Syria  just  for  a  few  hours  and  tell  my 
oppressed  countrymen  what  I  had  seen  in  America ;  just 
to  tell  them  of  the  freedom  and  inteUigence  of  the  Ameri- 
can laborer,  and  of  his  right  and  ability  to  convert  parks 
and  street  corners  into  lecturing  platforms.  .  .  . 

I  was  told  while  in  Syria  that  in  America  money  could 
be  picked  up  everywhere.  That  was  not  true.  But 
I  found  that  infinitely  better  things  than  money  — 
knowledge,  freedom,  self-reliance,  order,  cleanliness, 
sovereign  human  rights,  self-government,  and  all  that 
these  great  accompHshments  imply  — can  be  picked  up 
everywhere  in  America  by  whosoever  earnestly  seeks 
them.  And  those  among  Americans  who  are  exerting 
the  largest  influence  toward  the  solution  of  the  "immigra- 
tion problem"  are,  in  my  opinion,  not  those  who  are 
writing  books  on  "good  citizenship,"  but  those  who 
stand  before  the  foreigner  as  the  embodiment  of  these 
great  ideals. 

The  occasions  on  which  I  was  made  to  feel  that  I  was 
a  foreigner  —  an  ahen  —  were  so  rare  that  they  are  not 
worth  mentioning.  My  purpose  in  life,  and  the  large, 
warm  heart  of  America  which  opens  wide  to  every  person 
who  aspires  to  be  a  good  and  useful  citizen,  made  me  for- 
get that  there  was  an  "immigration  problem"  within 
the  borders  of  this  great  Commonwealth.  ... 

It  was  in  that  httle  town  [Elmore,  Ohio]  also  that  I 
first  heard  "America"  sung.     The  fine  "Land  where  my 


226  The  American  Spirit 

fathers  died"  stuck  in  my  throat.  I  envied  every  per- 
son in  that  audience  who  could  sing  it  truthfully.  For 
years  afterward,  whenever  I  tried  to  sing  those  words, 
I  seemed  to  myself  to  be  an  intruder.  At  last  a  new  light 
broke  upon  my  understanding.  At  last  I  was  led  to 
realize  that  the  fathers  of  my  new  and  higher  self  did 
live  and  die  in  America.  I  was  born  in  Syria  as  a  child, 
but  I  was  born  in  America  as  a  man.  All  those  who 
fought  for  the  freedom  I  enjoy,  for  the  civic  ideals  I  cher- 
ish, for  the  simple  but  lofty  virtues  of  the  typical  American 
home  which  I  love,  were  my  fathers !  Therefore,  I  could 
sing  the  words  "Land  where  my  fathers  died"  with  as 
much  truth  and  justice  as  the  words  "Land  of  the  pil- 
grims' pride."  .  .  . 

My  soul  was  fired  with  admiration  for  the  devotion, 
heroism,  and  endurance  of  the  American  volunteer  soldier, 
of  both  the  North  and  the  South.  And  oh,  the  story  of 
Abraham  Lincoln!  How  it  opened  every  vein  of  sym- 
pathy in  my  nature  and  awakened  in  me  deep,  almost 
religious  reverence  for  the  memory  of  that  "rich  and  vari- 
ous man."  As  I  read  and  re-read  the  records  of  his 
journey  from  a  log  cabin  to  the  White  House,  Lincoln 
seemed  to  me  to  be  the  noblest  human  example  this  side 
the  Crucifixion,  and  the  supreme  vindication  of  democracy. 

And  now  to  say  that  my  enthusiasm  for  the  martyr 
President  has  been  sobered  down  and  reheved  of  its  high 
coloring  does  by  no  means  indicate  a  reversal  of  my  youth- 
ful estimate  of  his  worth.  No,  Abraham  Lincoln  remains 
to  me  as  one  of  the  great  world-builders  and  saviors  of 
humanity.  But  my  present  opinion  is  that,  if  humanity 
is  not  to  be  pronounced  a  failure,  no  one  individual  can 
be  so  good  above  all  other  individuals,  nor  of  sufficiently 
inclusive  greatness,  as  to  be  called  the  noblest  human 


Americans  All  227 

example  and  the  supreme  vindication  of  democracy.  I 
find  the  vindication  of  democracy  not  only  in  the  career 
of  Lincoln,  but  also  in  the  million  men  who  left  their 
occupations  and  responded  to  his  call  to  arms  to  defend 
a  national  ideal ;  I  find  it  in  the  fortitude  and  sacrificing 
love  of  the  countless  American  mothers,  wives,  and  sis- 
ters, who  bade  their  men  go  forth  and  give  their  fullest 
measure  of  devotion  to  the  homes  and  altars  of  their 
country.  I  find  the  supreme  vindication  of  democracy 
in  this  nation's  survival  of  the  shocks  of  the  greatest  civil 
war  in  history ;  in  that  great  historic  triumph  of  reason 
over  the  passions  in  a  reunited  North  and  South;  in 
America's  miUions  of  happy  homes ;  in  its  multitudes  of 
schools  and  Hbraries,  which  are  "free  to  all,"  and  in  the- 
fact  that  its  power  of  cohesion  is  neither  that  of  standing 
armies,  nor  yet  of  superimposed  laws,  but  the  inteUigence 
of  its  citizens  and  mutual  good  will  among  them.  I  find 
the  vindication  of  democracy  in  the  marvelous  assimila- 
tive powers  of  America  through  which  hosts  of  gdiens  are 
enfranchised  in  peace  and  freedom,  intellectually,  poHt- 
ically,  and  socially;  in  the  fact  that  one  may  travel 
through  the  whole  vast  territory  called  the  United  States, 
the  home  of  a  hundred  miUion  souls,  without  encounter- 
ing a  customhouse,  a  "frontier  guard,"  or  a  constabulary 
squad;  in  the  American  citizen's  love  for  fair  play  and 
his  deep  conviction  that  right  only  makes  right.  .  .  .  No 
king,  I  beheve,  ever  felt  more  exalted  with  his  crown 
and  scepter  than  I  did  whenever  I  said  "My  country." 
Just  think  of  me,  the  child  of  ages  of  oppression,  now  hav- 
ing a  great  country  to  serve,  to  defend,  nay,  to  save  from 
impending  ruin!  It  was  undefiled  glory  to  address  "my 
fellow  citizens,"  even  to  carry  a  torch  —  a  lighted  one  — 
and  join  the  procession  under  the  Stars  and  Stripes.  .  .  . 


1) 


228  The  American  Spirit 

Now,  do  you  wish  to  know  what  riches  I  have  gathered 
in  the  New  World?  I  will  tell  you.  These  are  my 
riches,  which  neither  moth  nor  rust  can  corrupt.  I  have 
traveled  from  the  primitive  social  life  of  a  Syrian  village 
to  a  great  city  which  embodies  the  noblest  traditions  of 
the  most  enlightened  country  in  the  world.  I  have  come 
from  the  bondage  of  Turkish  rule  to  the  priceless  heritage 
of  American  citizenship.  Though  one  of  the  least  of 
her  loyal  citizens,  I  am  rich  in  the  sense  that  I  am  help- 
ing in  my  small  way  to  solve  America's  great  problems 
and  to  realize  her  wondrous  possibilities.  In  this  great 
country  I  have  been  taught  to  believe  in  and  to  labor  for 
an  enlightened  and  cooperative  individualism,  universal 
peace,  free  churches,  £ind  free  schools. 


AMERICA'S   CAUSE  AND  THE  FOREIGN-BORN 
CITIZEN  1 

Otto  H.  Kahn  (1867-        ) 

The  duty  of  loyal  allegiance  and  faithful  service  to  his 
country,  even  unto  death,  rests,  of  course,  upon  eveiry 
American.  But,  if  it  be  possible  to  speak  of  a  comparative 
degree  concerning  what  is  the  highest  as  it  is  the  most 
elementary  attribute  of  citizenship,  that  duty  may  almost 
be  said  to  rest  with  an  even  more  solemn  and  compelling 
obhgation  upon  Americans  of  foreign  origin  than  upon 
native  Americans. 

For  we  Americans  of  foreign  antecedents  are  here  not 
by  the  accidental  right  of  birth,  but  by  our  own  free  choice 
for  better  or  for  worse. 

1  From  an  address  by  Mr.  Kahn,  a  prominent  banker  and  philanthro- 
pist of  German  birth,  before  the  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce,  September  26, 1917.  Published  in  "  Right  Above 
Race."  Copyright,  1918,  by  The  Century  Company,  New  York. 
Used  by  permission  of  the  author. 


Americans  All  229 

We  are  your  fellow  citizens  because  you  accepted  our 
oath  of  allegiance  as  given  in  good  faith,  and  because  you 
have  opened  to  us  in  generous  trust  the  portals  of  American 
opportunity  and  freedom,  and  have  admitted  us  to  mem- 
bership in  the  family  of  Americans,  giving  us  equal  rights 
in  the  great  inheritance  which  has  been  created  by  the 
blood  and  the  toil  of  your  ancestors,  asking  nothing  from 
us  in  return  but  decent  citizenship  and  adherence  to  those 
ideals  and  principles  which  are  symboUzed  by  the  glorious^ 
flag  of  America. 

Woe  to  the  foreign-born  American  who  betrays  the 
splendid  trust  which  you  have  reposed  in  him  I 

Woe  to  him  who  considers  his  American  citizenship  merely 
as  a  convenient  garment  to  be  worn  in  fair  weather  but  to 
be  exchanged  for  another  one  in  time  of  storm  and  stress  I 

Woe  to  the  German-American,  so  called,  who,  in  this 
sacred  war  for  a  cause  as  high  as  any  for  which  ever  people 
took  up  arms,  does  not  feel  a  solemn  urge,  does  not  show 
an  eager  determination,  to  be  in  the  very  forefront  of  the 
struggle ;  does  not  prove  a  patriotic  jealousy,  in  thought, 
in  action,  and  in  speech,  to  rival  and  to  outdo  his  native- 
born  fellow  citizen  in  devotion  and  in  willing  sacrifice  for 
the  country  of  his  choice  and  adoption  and  sworn  alle- 
giance, and  of  their  common  affection  and  pride. 

As  Washington  led  Americans  of  British  blood  to  fight 
against  Great  Britain,  as  Lincoln  cedled  upon  Americans 
of  the  North  to  fight  their  very  brothers  of  the  South,  so 
Americans  of  German  descent  are  now  summoned  to  join 
in  our  country's  righteous  struggle  against  a  people  of 
their  own  blood,  which,  under  the  evil  spell  of  a  dreadful 
obsession,  and,  Heaven  knows !  through  no  fault  of  ours, 
has  made  itself  the  enemy  of  this  peace-loving  Nation,  as 
it  is  the  enemy  of  peace  and  right  and  freedom  through- 
out the  world. 


230  The  American  Spirit 

THE  FREEDOM  OF  THE  LAND 

L.  Lamprey 

Long,  long  ago  our  people  made  our  Land  for  us, 
Braving  all  the  perils  of  the  earth  and  sky  and  sea, 

Fearing  not  the  wilderness, 

Toiling  in  their  loneliness. 
All  in  love  and  loyalty  to  make  their  children  free. 

Long  years  ago  our  people  made  our  Law  for  us, 

Braving  Kings  and  Emperors,  they  labored  for  their  own, 

Men  of  every  faith  and  name. 

Out  of  every  land  they  came, 
Winning, us  our  liberty  to  reap  where  they  had  sown. 

Far,  fair  away  our  people  make  our  Name  for  us. 
Braving  all  the  terrors  of  the  battle's  fierce  array. 

For  the  peace  of  land  and  sea. 

For  the  birthright  of  the  free, 
All  for  truth  and  loyalty  they  spend  their  lives  today. 

God  guard  our  Land  —  the  land  our  people  gave  to  us. 
Grant  us  faith  unfaltering  for  the  days  that  are  to  be, 

So  to  keep  in  steadfastness, 

Honor,  truth,  and  kindliness. 
The  glory  of  America,  the  birthright  of  the  free  I 

AMERICA  FIRST  1 

WooDRow  Wilson  (1856-    ) 

The  singular  fascination  of  American  history  is  that 
it  has  been  a  process  of  constant  re-creation,  of  making 

^  Address  delivered  before  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution, 
Washington,  D.C.,  October  11,  1915.  From  official  pamphlet 
printed  by  the  Government  Printing  Office,  Washington,  D.C.,  1915. 


7 


Americans  All  231 

over  again  in  each  generation  the  thing  which  was  con- 
ceived at  first.  You  know  how  peculiarly  necessary  that 
has  been  in  our  case,  because  America  has  not  grown  by 
the  mere  multiplication  of  the  original  stock.  It  is  easy 
to  preserve  tradition  with  continuity  of  blood ;  it  is  easy 
in  a  single  family  to  remember  the  origins  of  the  race  and 
the  purposes  of  its  organization ;  but  it  is  not  so  easy 
when  that  race  is  constantly  being  renewed  and  aug- 
mented from  other  sources,  from  stocks  that  did  not  carry) 
or  originate  the  same  principles. 

So  from  generation  to  generation  strangers  have  had 
to  be  indoctrinated  with  the  principles  of  the  American 
family,  and  the  wonder  and  the  beauty  of  it  all  has  been 
that  the  infection  has  been  so  generously  easy.  For  the 
principles  of  liberty  are  united  with  the  principles  of  hope. 
Every  individual,  as  well  as  every  Nation,  wishes  to  realize 
the  best  thing  that  is  in  him,  the  best  thing  that  can  be 
conceived  out  of  the  materials  of  which  his  spirit  is  con- 
structed. It  has  happened  in  a  way  that  fascinates  the 
imagination  that  we  have  not  only  been  augmented  by 
additions  from  outside,  but  that  we  have  been  greatly 
stimulated  by  those  additions.  Living  in  the  easy  pros- 
perity of  a  free  people,  knowing  that  the  sun  had  always 
been  free  to  shine  upon  us  and  prosper  our  undertakings, 
we  did  not  reahze  how  hard  the  task  of  liberty  is  and  how 
rare  the  privilege  of  liberty  is ;  but  men  were  drawn  out  /  \ 
of  every  chmate  and  out  of  every  race  because  of  an  ir-  V 
resistible  attraction  of  their  spirits  to  the  American  ideal. 
They  thought  of  America  as  Hfting,  hke  that  great  statue 
in  the  harbor  of  New  York,  a  torch  to  Ught  the  pathway 
of  men  to  the  things  that  they  desire,  and  men  of  all  sorts 
and  conditions  struggled  toward  that  hght  and  came  to 
our  shores  with  an  eager  desire  to  regJize  it,  and  a  hunger 


232  The  American  Spirit 

for  it  such  as  some  of  us  no  longer  felt,  for  we  were  as  if 
satiated  and  satisfied  and  were  indulging  ourselves  after 
a  fashion  that  did  not  belong  to  the  ascetic  devotion  of  the 
early  devotees  of  those  great  principles.  Strangers  came 
to  remind  us  of  what  we  had  promised  ourselves  and 
through  ourselves  had  promised  mankind.  All  men 
came  to  us  and  said,  "  Where  is  the  bread  of  life  with  which 
you  promised  to  feed  us,  and  have  you  partaken  of  it  your- 
selves?" For  my  part,  I  beHeve  that  the  constant  re- 
newal of  this  people  out  of  foreign  stocks  has  been  a  con- 
stant source  of  reminder  to  this  people  of  what  the  induce- 
ment was  that  was  offered  to  men  who  would  come  and 
be  of  our  number.  .  .  . 

I  would  not  be  afraid  upon  the  test  of  "America  first" 
to  take  a  census  of  all  the  foreign-born  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  for  I  know  that  the  vast  majority  of  them 
came  here  because  they  believed  in  America ;  and  their 
behef  in  America  has  made  them  better  citizens  than  some 
people  who  were  born  in  America.  They  can  say  that 
they  have  bought  this  privilege  with  a  great  price.  They 
have  left  their  homes,  they  have  left  their  kindred,  they 
have  broken  all  the  nearest  and  deeuest  ties  of  human  life 
in  order  to  come  to  a  new  land,  take  a  new  rootage,  begin 
a  new  life,  and  so  byself-sacrifice  express  their  confidence 
in  a  new  principle ;  whereas,  it  cost  us  none  of  these  things. 
We  were  born  into  this  privilege ;  we  were  rocked  and 
cradled  in  it ;  we  did  nothing  to  create  it ;  and  it  is,  there- 
fore, the  greater  duty  on  our  part  to  do  a  great  deal  to 
enhance  it  and  preserve  it.  I  am  not  deceived  as  to  the 
balance  of  opinion  among  the  foreign-born  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  but  I  am  in  a  hurry  for  an  opportunity  to 
have  a  fine-up  and  let  the  men  who  are  thinking  first  of 
other  countries  stand  on  one  side  and  all  those  that  are 


Americans  All  233 

for  America  first,  last,  and  all  the  time  on  the  other 
side.  ... 

I  would  not  feel  any  exhilaration  in  belonging  to 
America  if  I  did  not  feel  that  she  was  something  more 
than  a  rich  and  powerful  nation.  I  should  not  feel  proud 
to  be  in  some  respects  and  for  a  Httle  while  her  spokesman 
if  I  did  not  beUeve  that  there  was  something  else  than 
physical  force  behind  her.  I  believe  that  the  glory  ofl 
America  is  that  she  is  a  great  spiritual  conception  and\ 
that  in  the  spirit  of  her  institutions  dwells  not  only  her/ 
distinction  but  her  power.  The  one  thing  that  the  worlA 
cannot  permanently  resist  is  the  moral  force  of  great  and 
triumphant  convictions.  « 


AMERICA  FIRST  1 

Theodore  Roosevelt  (1858-        ) 

The  mighty  tide  of  immigration  to  our  shores  has 
brought  in  its  train  much  of  good  and  much  of  evil ;  and 
whether  the  good  or  the  evil  shall  predominate  depends 
mainly  on  whether  these  newcomers  do  or  do  not  throw 
themselves  heartily  into  our  national  Ufe,  cease  to  be 
European,  and  become  American  like  the  rest  of  us. 
More  than  a  third  of  the  people  of  the  Northern  states  are 
of  foreign  birth  or  parentage.  An  immense  number  of 
them  have  become  completely  Americanized,  and  these 
stand  on  exactly  the  same  plane  as  the  descendants  of  any 
Puritan,  CavaUer,  or  Knickerbocker  among  us,  and  do 
their  full  and  honorable  share  of  the  nation's  work.     But 

*From  "American  Ideals  and  Other  Essays."  Copyright,  1897, 
by  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  New  York.  Used  by  permission  of 
the  publishers  and  the  author. 


234  The  American  Spirit 

where  immigrants,  or  the  sons  of  immigrants,  do  not  heart- 
ily and  in  good  faith  throw  in  their  lot  with  us,  but  cling 
to  the  speech,  the  customs,  the  ways  of  life,  and  the  habits 
of  thought  of  the  Old  World  which  they  have  left,  they 
thereby  harm  both  themselves  and  us.  If  they  remain 
alien  elements,  unassimilated,  and  with  interests  separate 
from  ours,  they  are  mere  obstructions  to  the  current  of  our 
national  hfe,  and,  moreover,  can  get  no  good  from  it 
themselves.  In  fact,  though  we  ourselves  also  suffer 
from  their  perversity,  it  is  they  who  really  suffer  most. 
It  is  an  immense  benefit  to  the  European  immigrant  to 
change  him  into  an  American  citizen.  To  bear  the  name 
of  American  is  to  bear  the  most  honorable  of  titles ;  and 
whoever  does  not  so  beheve  has  no  business  to  bear  the 
name  at  all,  and  if  he  comes  from  Europe,  the  sooner  he 
goes  bsick  there  the  better.  Besides,  the  man  who  does 
not  become  Americanized  nevertheless  fails  to  remain  a 
European,  and  becomes  nothing  at  all.  The  immigrant 
cannot  possibly  remain  what  he  was,  or  continue  to  be  a 
member  of  the  Old  World  society.  If  he  tries  to  retain 
his  old  language,  in  a  few  generations  it  becomes  a  bar- 
barous jargon ;  if  he  tries  to  retain  his  old  customs  and 
ways  of  hfe,  in  a  few  generations  he  becomes  an  uncouth 
boor.  He  has  cut  himself  off  from  the  Old  World,  and 
cannot  retain  his  connection  with  it ;  and  if  he  wishes  ever 
to  amount  to  anything,  he  must  throw  himself  heart  and 
soul,  and  without  reservation,  into  the  new  life  to  which  he 
has  come.  .  .  . 

The  immigrant  of  today  can  learn  much  from  the 
experience  of  the  immigrants  of  the  past,  who  came  to 
America  prior  to  the  Revolutionary  War.  We  were  then 
already,  what  we  are  now,  a  people  of  mixed  blood. 
Many  of  our  most  illustrious  Revolutionary  names  were 


Americans  All  235 

borne  by  men  of  Huguenot  blood  —  Jay,  Sevier,  Marion, 
Laurens.  But  the  Huguenots  were,  on  the  whole,  the 
best  immigrants  we  have  ever  received ;  sooner  than  any 
other,  and  more  completely,  they  became  American 
in  speech,  conviction,  and  thought.  The  Hollanders 
took  longer  than  the  Huguenots  to,  become  completely 
assimilated ;  nevertheless,  they  in  the  end  became  so,  im- 
mensely to  their  own  advantage.  One  of  the  leading 
Revolutionary  generals,  Schuyler,  and  one  of  the  Presi- 
dents of  the  United  States,  Van  Buren,  were  of  Dutch 
blood ;  but  they  rose  to  their  positions,  the  highest  in  the 
land,  because  they  had  become  Americans  and  had 
ceased  being  Hollanders.  If  they  had  remained  members 
of  an  alien  body,  cut  off  by  their  speech  and  customs  and 
belief  from  the  rest  of  the  American  community,  Schuyler 
would  have  hved  his  life  as  a  boorish  provincial  squire, 
and  Van  Buren  would  have  ended  his  days  as  a  small 
tavern-keeper. 


ODE  TO  COLUMBIA  1 

HURBAN   VaJANSKY 
(Written  in  prison  in  Segedin) 

The  old  men  die  beholding  only  ruin, 

Their  eyes  behold  no  hope,  no  truth  in  Hfe. 

The  young  men  fall  away,  at  once  or  slowly. 
Even  the  strong  give  up  the  ceaseless  strife ; 

Only  a  handful  still  keep  up  the  fight. 

Only  a  few  hghts  burn  amid  the  night. 

^From  "Our  Slavic  Fellow  Citizens,"  by  Emily  Greene  Balch. 
Published  by  New  York  Charities  Commission,  1910.  Used  by 
permission  of  the  translator,  Professor  Balch. 


236  The  American  Spirit 

Suddenly  rises  proudly  from  the  ocean 

A  giant  woman  with  majestic  face ; 
Shining  the  drapery  of  her  snowy  garments, 

Her  eyes  like  flames  upon  the  altar  place ; 
Her  godlike  breast  Uke  marble  fair  to  see. 
*'You  poor  forsaken  children,  come  to  me. 

*'0  come ;  I  know  you  bring  but  humble  packets, 
That  from  your  fatherland  no  gems  you  bring, 

That  murderous  wrath  has  chased  you  from  your  dwell- 
ings. 
From  the  ancestral  soil  to  which  you  cling ; 

No  gifts  I  offer,  but  this  one  reward  — 

Time  for  free  work,  for  human  rights  regard." 

And  they,  disgraced  here  in  their  native  country. 
Lift  up  proud  heads  since  o'er  the  seas  they  came, 

And  there  he  speaks  aloud  who  here  was  silent, 
And  glories  there  in  what  he  here  thought  shame. 

Columbia  to  him  self-knowledge  gives. 

Surprised  he  finds  that  only  now  he  hves. 

Hail  to  our  brothers  whom  their  stepdame  cruel 
Drove  from  their  simple  huts,  their  native  sod. 

Columbia,  thou  hast  smitten  ofl^  the  fetters. 
Lifting  them  up  to  manhood,  heaven,  and  God. 

0  land  of  Christopher,  may  Christ  repay 

What  for  my  brothers  poor  thou  dost  today. 


Americans  All  237  I 

i 

3 

ONE  COUNTRY!  \ 

Frank  L.  Stanton  (1857-       )  ^ 

After  all, 
One  country,  brethren !    We  must  rise  or  fall 

With  the  Supreme  Republic.     W^e  must  be  i 

The  m£ikers  of  her  immortality ; 

Her  freedom,  fame,  ; 

Her  glory  or  her  shame  — 
Liegemen  to  God  and  fathers  of  the  free !  i 

After  all—  i 

Hark!    from  the  heights  the  clear,  strong,  clarion  call  l 

And  the  command  imperious :   "Stand  forth,  i 

Sons  of  the  South  and  brothers  of  the  North  I  \ 

Stand  forth  and  be  ^ 

As  one  on  soil  and  sea —  ■ 

Your  country's  honor  more  than  empire's  worth  I "  ^ 

After  all,  ; 

'Tis  Freedom  wears  the  loveliest  coronal ; 

Her  brow  is  to  the  morning :  in  the  sod 

She  breathes  the  breath  of  patriots ;  every  clod  ^ 

Answers  her  call  J 

And  rises  Uke  a  wall  I 

Against  the  foes  of  liberty  and  God !  ■] 

*  From  "Comes  One  with  a  Song,"  by  Frank  L.  Stanton.     Copy-  ■ 

right,  1898.     Used  by  special  permission  of  the  publishers,  The  \ 

Bobbs-Merrill  Company,  Indianapohs. 

.{ 

J 
i 

^ 

i 


IX.    THE  PRESENT  CRISIS 


INTRODUCTION 

The  great  European  war  began  on  August  1,  1914. 
The  United  States  remained  neutral  in  this  conflict  for 
almost  three  years.  At  first  the  cause  of  the  war  and  the 
aims  and  purposes  of  the  contestants  were  somewhat 
befogged  by  contradictory  statements.  The  pohcy  of 
the  German  Imperial  Government,  however,  has  from 
month  to  month  and  from  year  to  year  thrown  increasing 
light  upon  the  fundamental  issues. 

Only  a  self-centered  autocracy  could  have  invaded  a 
small,  inoffensive  country  Uke  Belgium,  ignoring  any 
question  of  justice  or  humanity,  for  the  reason,  since 
avowed,  that  it  was  supposed  to  be  easier  to  take  this 
road  to  the  conquest  of  France  than  to  face  the  French 
forts  on  the  frontier.  Only  a  conscienceless  autocracy 
could  have  conceived  the  dehberate  policy  of  robbing  this 
Belgium  of  millions  of  money  and  treasure,  and  after 
removing  her  food  suppUes  and  the  tools  and  machinery 
of  her  commerce  and  manufacture,  condescending  to  per- 
mit other  nations  to  feed  the  people  made  destitute  by  their 
conquerors.  Only  a  desperate  autocracy  would  have 
resorted  to  the  infamy  of  reviving  piracy,  attacking  by 
submarine  warfare  the  unarmed  and  helpless  merchant- 
men and  passenger  boats  of  neutral  and  friendly  powers, 
instead  of  issuing  with  its  navy  to  meet  the  warships  of  its 
enemy  in  equal  battle.  Only  a  thoroughly  unscrupulous 
autocracy  could  have  coolly  and  cynically  sent  forth  into 
the  neutral  countries  of  the  world  an  army  of  spies, 
plotters,  and  incendiary  criminals,  while  continuing  to 
profess  friendship. 

239 


240  The  American  Spirit 

The  issue  has  been  made  plain.  The  people  of  the 
United  States  know  that  the  struggle  is  henceforth,  as 
from  the  first  it  has  shown  itself  to  be,  a  grapple  between 
autocracy  and  the  rising  spirit  of  democracy  for  the  domi- 
nation of  the  world.  Germany  deired  her  fate  when  she 
flung  out  the  battle  cry:  "World  Power. or  Downfall!'* 
France  rephed  with  the  immortal  words  of  Verdun :  "You 
shall  not  pass!" 

The  merciless  submarine  poHcy  of  the  German  Empire 
was  again  and  again  challenged  by  our  government.  At 
the  beginning  of  1917  Germany  made  this  warfare  more 
ruthless  than  ever.  War  with  the  United  States  was 
inevitable.  On  April  2,  President  Wilson  asked  Congress 
for  authority  to  wage  war  against  the  Imperial  German 
Government,  on  the  ground  that  that  government  was 
aheady  waging  war  upon  this  country.  Congress  was  not 
slow  to  respond.     War  was  declared. 

In  the  greatest  moral  crisis  which  the  world  has  ever 
seen,  we  are  finally  ranged  openly  on  the  side  of  those  who 
champion  the  cause  of  right  and  chivalry  against  brutal 
and  cynical  will  to  power.  Long  before  the  expHcit 
declaration  of  war,  Americans  had  poured  into  France  to 
become  soldiers  of  the  Foreign  Legion,  privates  of  Cana- 
dian regiments,  aviators,  drivers  of  Red  Cross  ambulances, 
hospital  surgeons  and  nurses,  organizers  of  war  relief  work 
in  every  form.  Now  we  are  enlisted  as  a  people,  with 
faith  that  the  victory  of  democracy  must  be  decisive. 
Nations  must  continue  in  the  right  to  rule  themselves; 
nations  as  yet  incapable  of  self-government  must  not  be 
bound  in  the  chains  of  greedy  despotism.  This  is  a  war 
to  make  the  world  free,  to  make  it,  in  the  wise  and  potent 
phrase  of  Woodrow  Wilson,  spokesman  of  our  nation, 
a  world  safe  for  democracy. 


The  Present  Crisis'  .        241 

THE  PRESENT  CRISIS  ^ 
James  Russell  Lowell  (1819-1891) 

Once  to  every  man  and  nation  comes  the  moment  to 

decide, 
In  the  strife  of  Truth  with  Falsehood,  for  the  good  or 

evil  side ; 
Some  great  cause,  God's  new  Messiah,  offering  each  the 

bloom  or  blight. 
Parts  the  goats  upon  the  left  hand,  and  the  sheep  upon 

the  right. 
And  the  choice  goes  by  forever  'twixt  that  darkness  and 

that  Hght. 

Hast  thou  chosen,  0  my  people,  on  whose  party  thou 

shalt  stand, 
Ere  the  Doom  from  its  worn  sandals  shakes  the  dust 

against  our  land  ? 
Though  the  cause  of  Evil  prosper,  yet  'tis  Truth  alone  is 

strong, 
And,  albeit  she  wander  outcast  now,  I  see  around  her 

throng 
Troops  of  beautiful,  tall  angels,  to  enshield  her  from  all 

wrong. 

Backward  look  across  the  ages  and  the  beacon-moments 

see, 
That  like  peaks  of  some  sunk  continent,  jut  through 

ObHvion's  sea : 


From  "The  Present  Crisis,"  in  Lowell's  Poetical  Works 
(Riverside  Edition),  Vol.  I.  Copyright,  1890,  by  James  Russell 
liOwell.  Published  by  Houghton  Mifflin  Company,  Roston.  Used 
by  permission  of  the  publishers. 


242  The  American  Spirit 

Not  an  ear  in  court  or  market  for  the  low,  foreboding  cry 
Of  those   Crises,    God's   stern   winnowers,   from   whose 

feet  earth's  chaff  must  fly ; 
Never  shows  the  choice  momentous  till  the  judgment 

hath  passed  by. 

Careless  seems  the  great  Avenger;    history's  pages  but 

record 
One  death-grapple  in  the  darkness  'twixt  old  systems 

and  the  Word ; 
Truth  forever  on  the  scaffold,   Wrong  forever  on  the 

throne,  — 
Yet  that  scaffold  sways  the  future,  and,  behind  the  dim 

unknown, 
Standeth  God  within  the  shadow,  keeping  watch  above 

his  own. 

We  see  dimly  in  the  Present  what  is  small  and  what  is 
great, 

Slow  of  faith,  how  weak  an  arm  may  turn  the  iron  helm 
of  fate. 

But  the  soul  is  still  oracular ;   amid  the  market's  din. 

List  the  ominous  stern  whisper  from  the  Delphic  cave 
within,  —  ; 

*'They  enslave  their  children's  children  who  make  com- 
promise with  sin." 

Slavery,   the   earth-born   Cyclops,   fellest   of  the   giant 

brood, 
Sons  of  brutish  Force  and  Darkness,  who  have  drenched 

the  earth  with  blood. 
Famished  in  his  self-made  desert,  bhnded  by  our  purer 

day, 


The  Present  Crisis  243 

Gropes  in  yet  unblasted  regions  for  his  miserable  prey ;  — 
Shall  we  guide  his  gory  fingers  where  our  helpless  chil- 
dren play  ? 

Then  to  side  with  Truth  is  noble  when  we   share  her 

wretched  crust, 
Ere  her  cause  bring  fame  and  profit  and  'tis  prosperous 

to  be  just ; 
Then  it  is  the  brave  man  chooses,  while  the  coward  stands 

aside. 
Doubting  in  his  abject  spirit,  till  his  Lord  is  crucified. 
And  the  multitude  make  virtue  of  the  faith  they  had 

denied. 

Count  me  o'er  earth's  chosen  heroes  —  they  were  souls* 

that  stood  alone. 
While  the  men  they  agonized  for  hurled  the  contumehoup 

stone. 
Stood  serene,  and  down  the  future  saw  the  golden  beam 

incUne 
To  the  side  of  perfect  justice,  mastered  by  their  faith 

divine. 
By  one  man's  plain  truth  to  manhood,  and  to  God's 

supreme  design. 


'Tis  as  easy  to  be  heroes  as  to  sit  the  idle  slaves 

Of  a  legendary  virtue  carved  upon  our  fathers'  graves, 

Worshipers  of  light  ancestral  make  the  present  light  a 

crime ;  — 
Was  the  Mayflower  launched  by  cowards,  steered  by  men 

behind  their  time  ? 
Turn  those  tracks  toward  Past  or  Future,  that  make 

Plymouth  Rock  subUme  ? 


S44  The  American  Spirit 

They  were  men  of  present  valor,  stalwart  old  iconoclasts, 
Unconvinced  by  ax  or  gibbet  that  all  virtue  was  the 

Past's ; 
But  we  make  their  truth  our  falsehood,  thinking  that 

hath  made  us  free, 
Hoarding  it  in  moldy  parchments,  while  our  tender  spirits 

flee 
The  rude  grasp  of  that  great  Impulse  which  drove  them 

across  the  sea. 

They  have  rights  who  dare  maintain  them  ;  we  £ire  traitors 
to  our  sires, 

Smothering  in  their  holy  ashes  Freedom's  new-lit  altar- 
fires ; 

Shall  we  make  their  creed  our  jailer?  Shall  we,  in  our 
haste  to  slay. 

From  the  tombs  of  the  old  prophets  steal  the  funeral 
lamps  away 

To  light  up  the  martyr-fagots  round  the  prophets  of 
today  ? 

New  occasions  teach  new  duties ;  Time  makes  ancient 
good  uncouth ; 

They  must  upward  still,  and  onward,  who  would  keep 
abreast  of  Truth ; 

Lo,  before  us  gleam  her  camp-fires !  we  ourselves  must 
Pilgrims  be, 

Launch  our  Mayflower,  and  'steer  boldly  through  the  des- 
perate winter  sea. 

Nor  attempt  the  Future's  portal  with  the  Past's  blood- 
rusted  key. 


The  Present  Crisis  245 

THE  PRUSSIAN  MENACE  TO  AMERICAN 
FREEDOM  1 

Elihu  Root  (1845-        ) 

By  entering  this  war  in  April,  the  United  States  availed 
itself  of  the  very  last  opportunity  to  defend  itself  against 
subjection  to  German  power  before  it  was  too  late  to  defend 
itself  successfully. 

For  many  years  we  have  pursued  our  peaceful  course 
of  internal  development  protected  in  a  v£u*iety  of  ways. 
We  were  protected  by  the  law  of  nations  to  which  all 
civiUzed  governments  have  professed  their  allegiance. 
So  long  as  we  committed  no  injustice  ourselves  we  could 
not  be  attacked  without  a  violation  of  that  law. 

We  were  protected  by  a  series  of  treaties  under  which 
all  the  principal  nations  of  the  earth  agreed  to  respect 
our  rights  and  to  maintain  friendship  with  us.  We  were 
protected  by  an  extensive  system  of  arbitration  created 
by  or  consequent  upon  the  peace  conferences  at  The 
Hague,  and  under  which  all  controversies  arising  under 
the  law  and  under  treaties  were  to  be  settled  peaceably 
by  arbitration  and  not  by  force. 

We  were  protected  by  the  broad  expanse  of  ocean 
separating  us  from  all  great  military  powers,  and  by  the 
bold  assertion  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine  '^  that  if  any  of  those 

1  Mr.  Root  was  Secretary  of  State  under  President  Rocsevelt. 
In  this  and  many  other  offices  of  trust  Mr.  Root,  through  his  broad 
statesmanship  and  keen  intellectual  powers,  has  been  an  instrument 
in  estabUshing  the  American  spirit. 

From  an  address  delivered  at  Chicago,  Illinois,  September  14, 
1917.  In  pamphlet,  "  Plain  Issues  of  the  War,"  issued  by  the  Com- 
mittee on  Public  Information,  Washington,  D.C. 

*  See  page  74  for  the  foreign  policy  formulated  imder  President 


246  The  American  Spirit 

powers  undertook  to  overpass  the  ocean  and  establish 
itself  upon  these  western  continents  that  would  be  re- 
garded as  dangerous  to  the  peace  and  safety  of  the  United 
States,  and  would  call  upon  her  to  act  in  her  defense. 

We  were  protected  by  the  fact  that  the  policy  and  the 
fleet  of  Great  Britain  were  well  known  to  support  the 
Monroe  Doctrine.  We  were  protected  by  the  dehcate 
balance  of  power  in  Europe  which  made  it  seem  not  worth 
while  for  any  power  to  engage  in  a  conflict  here  at  the  risk 
of  suffering  from  its  rivals  there. 

All  these  protections  were  swept  away  by  the  war  which 
began  in  Europe  in  1914.  The  war  was  begun  by  the 
concerted  action  of  Germany  and  Austria  —  the  invasion 
of  Serbia  on  the  east  by  Austria  and  the  invasion  of 
Luxembourg  and  Belgium  on  the  west  by  Germany.  Both 
invasions  were  in  violation  of  the  law  of  nations,  and  in 
violation  of  the  faith  of  treaties. 

Everybody  knew  that  Russia  was  bound  in  good  faith 
to  come  to  the  relief  of  Serbia,  that  France  was  bound 
by  treaty  to  come  to  the  aid  of  Russia,  that  England  was 
bound  by  treaty  to  come  to  the  aid  of  Belgium,  so  that 
the  invasion  of  these  two  smaU  states  was  the  beginning 
of  a  general  European  war. 

These  acts,  which  have  drenched  the  world  with  blood, 
were  defended  and  justified  in  the  bold  avowal  of  the 
German  government  that  the  interests  of  the  Germgin 
state  were  superior  to  the  obhgations  of  law  and  the  faith 
of  treaties,  that  no  law  or  treaty  was  binding  upon  Ger- 
many which  it  was  for  the  interest  of  Germany  to  violate. 

AU  pretense  of  obedience  to  the  law  of  nations  and  of 

Monroe  in  1823,  which  announced  that  the  United  States  would 
view  as  a  hostile  action  any  attempt  of  European  powers  to  acquire 
territory  on  the  American  continents. 


The  Present  Crisis  247 

respect  for  solemn  promises  was  thrown  off ;  and,  in  lieu 
of  that  system  of  lawful  and  moral  restraint  upon  power 
which  Christian  civilization  has  been  building  up  for  a 
century  was  reinstated  the  cynical  philosophy  of  Frederick 
the  Great,  the  greatest  of  the  Hohenzollerns,  who  declared : 

"Statesmanship  can  be  reduced  to  three  principles: 
First,  to  maintain  your  power,  and,  according  to  circum- 
stances, to  extend  it.  Second,  to  form  an  alliance  only  for 
your  own  advantage.  Third,  to  command  fear  and  re- 
spect, even  in  the  most  disastrous  times. 

"Do  not  be  ashamed  of  making  interested  alliances 
from  which  you  yourself  can  derive  the  whole  advantage. 
Do  not  make  the  fooUsh  mistake  of  not  breaking  them 
when  you  believe  your  interests  require  it. 

"Above  all,  uphold  the  following  maxim:  To  despoil 
your  neighbors  is  to  deprive  them  of  the  means  of  injuring 
you. 

"When  he  is  about  to  conclude  a  treaty  with  some 
foreign  power,  if  a  sovereign  remembers  he  is  a  Christian, 
he  is  lost." 

From  1914  until  the  present,  in  a  war  waged  by  Ger- 
many with  a  revolting  barbarity  unequaled  since  the  con- 
quests of  Genghis  Khan,^  Germany  has  violated  every  rule 
agreed  upon  by  civiHzed  nations  in  modern  times  to  miti- 
gate the  barbarities  of  wai  or  to  protect  the  rights  of  non- 
combatants  and  neutrals.  She  had  no  grievance  against 
Belgium  except  that  Belgium  stood  upon  her  admitted 
rights  and  refused  to  break  the  faith  of  her  treaties  by 
consenting  that  the  neutrality  of  her  territory  should  be 


1  The  great  Mongolian  chieftain  of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth 
centuries,  who  conquered  China  and  central  Asia  and  has  left  his 
name  in  history  as  one  of  the  most  barbarous,  cruel,  and  ruthless 
of  conquerors. 


248  The  American  Spirit 

violated  to  give  Germany  an  avenue  for  the  attack  upon 
France. 

She  has  taken  possession  of  the  territory  of  Belgium 
and  subjected  her  people  to  the  hard  yoke  of  a  brutal  sol- 
diery. She  has  extorted  vast  sums  from  her  peaceful 
cities.  She  has  burned  her  towns  and  battered  down  her 
noble  churches.  She  has  stripped  the  Belgian  factories 
of  their  machinery  and  deprived  them  of  the  raw  materigJ 
of  manufacture. 

She  has  carried  iaway  her  workmen  by  tens  of  thousands 
into  slavery,  and  her  women  into  worse  than  slavery. 
She  has  slain  peaceful  noncombatants  by  the  hundred, 
undeterred  by  the  helplessness  of  age,  of  infancy,  or  of 
womanhood.  She  has  done  the  same  in  northern  France, 
in  Poland,  in  Serbia,  in  Roumania. 

In  all  of  these  countries  women  have  been  outraged  by 
the  thousand,  by  tens  of  thousands,  and  who  ever  heard 
of  a  German  soldier  being  punished  for  rape,  or  robbery, 
or  murder?  These  revolting  outrages  upon  humanity 
and  law  are  not  the  casual  incidents  of  W£ir,  but  are  the 
results  of  a  settled  policy  of  frightfulness  answering  to  the 
maxim  of  the  Great  Frederick  to  "command  respect 
through  fear." 

Why  were  these  things  done  by  Germany  ?  The  answer 
rests  upon  the  accumulated  evidence  of  German  acts  and 
German  words  so  conclusive  that  no  pretense  can  cover  it, 
no  sophistry  can  disguise  it.  The  answer  is  that  this  war 
was  begun  and  these  crimes  against  humanity  were  done 
because  Germany  was  pursuing  the  hereditary  poHcy  of 
the  Hohenzollerns  and  following  the  instincts  of  the  arro- 
gant military  caste  which  rules  Prussia,  to  grasp  the  over- 
lordship  of  the  civiHzed  world  and  estabhsh  an  empire  in 
which  she  should  play  the  role  of  ancient  Rome. 


The  Present  Crisis  249 

They  were  done  because  Prussian  militarism  still  pursues 
the  policy  of  power  through  conquest,  of  aggrandizement 
through  force  and  fear,  which  in  little  more  than  two 
centuries  has  brought  the  puny  mark  of  Brandenburg  — 
with  its  million  and  a  half  of  people  —  to  the  control  of  a 
vast  empire  —  the  greatest  armed  force  of  the  modern 
world. 

It  now  appears  beyond  the  possibihty  of  doubt  that 
this  war  was  made  by  Germany  pursuing  a  long  and  settled 
purpose.  For  many  years  she  has  been  preparing  to  do 
exactly  what  she  has  done  with  a  thoroughness,  a  perfec- 
tion of  plans,  and  a  vastness  of  provision  in  men,  muni- 
tions, and  supphes  never  before  equaled  or  approached  in 
human  history. 

She  brought  the  war  on  when  she  chose,  because  she 
chose,  in  the  belief  that  she  could  conquer  the  earth, 
nation  by  nation. 

All  nations  are  egotistical,  all  peoples  think  most  highly 
of  their  own  qualities,  and  regard  other  peoples  as  inferior ; 
but  the  egotism  of  the  ruling  class  of  Prussia  is  beyond  all 
example  and  it  is  active  and  aggressive.  They  believe 
that  Germany  is  entitled  to  rule  the  world  by  virtue  of  her 
superiority  in  all  these  qualities  which  they  include  under 
the  term  "kultur,"  and  by  reason  of  her  power  to  compel 
submission  by  the  sword. 

That  behef  does  not  evaporate  in  theory.  It  is  trans- 
lated into  action,  and  this  war  is  the  action  which  results. 
This  belief  of  national  superiority  and  the  right  to  assert 
it  everywhere  is  a  tradition  from  the  Great  Frederick. 
Tt  has  been  instilled  into  the  minds  of  the  German  people 
through  all  the  universities  and  schools.  It  has  been 
preached  from  her  pulpits  and  taught  by  her  philosophers 
and  historians.     It  has  been  maintained  by  her  govern- 


250  The  American  Spirit 

ment  and  it  will  never  cease  to  furnish  the  motive  for  the 
people  of  Prussia  so  long  as  German  power  enables  the 
military  autocracy  of  Prussia  to  act  upon  it  with  success. 

Plainly,  if  the  power  of  the  German  government  is  to 
continue,  America  can  no  longer  look  for  protection  to  the 
law  of  nations  or  the  faith  of  treaties  or  the  instincts  of 
humanity  or  the  restraints  of  modern  civilization. 

Plainly,  also,  if  we  had  stayed  out  of  the  war  and  Ger- 
many had  won  there  would  no  longer  have  been  a  balance 
of  power  in  Europe  or  a  British  fleet  to  support  the  Monroe 
Doctrine  and  protect  America. 

Does  any  one  indulge  in  the  foohsh  assumption  that 
Germany  would  not  then  have  extended  her  lust  for  power 
by  conquest  to  the  American  continent?  Let  him  con- 
sider what  it  is  for  which  the  nations  of  Europe  have  been 
chiefly  contending  for.  centuries  past. 

It  has  been  for  colonies.  It  has  been  to  bring  the 
unoccupied  or  weakly  held  spaces  of  the  earth  under  their 
flags  and  their  poHtical  control,  in  order  to  increase  their 
trade  and  their  power. 

Spain,  Holland,  Portugal,  England,  France,  have  all 
had  their  turn,  and  have  covered  the  earth  with  their 
possessions.  For  thirty  years  Germany,  the  last  comer, 
has  been  pressing  forward  with  feverish  activity  the  ac- 
quisition of  stations  for  her  power  on  every  coast  and 
every  sea,  restive  and  resentful  because  she  has  been 
obliged  to  take  what  others  have  left. 

Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa  have  been  taken  up.  The 
Americas  alone  remain.  Here  in  the  vast  and  unde- 
fended spaces  of  the  new  world,  fraught  with  potential' 
wealth  incalculable,  Germany  could  "find  a  place  in  the 
sun,"  to  use  her  emperor's  phrase ;  Germany  could  find 
her  "liberty  of  national  evolution,"  to  use  his  phrase  ageiin. 


The  Present  Crisis  251 

Every  traditional  policy,  every  instinct  of  predatory 
Prussia,  would  urge  her  into  this  new  field  of  aggrandize- 
ment. 

What  would  prevent?  The  Monroe  Doctrine?  Yes. 
But  what  is  the  Monroe  Doctrine  as  against  a  nation 
which  respects  only  force  unless  it  can  be  maintained  by 
force?  We  already  know  how  the  German  government 
feels  about  the  Monroe  Doctrine. 

Bismarck  declared  it  to  be  a  piece  of  colossal  impudence ; 
and,  when  President  Roosevelt  interfered  to  assert  the 
doctrine  for  the  protection  of  Venezuela,  the  present  Kaiser 
declared  that  if  he  then  had  had  a  larger  navy  he  would 
have  taken  America  by  the  scruff  of  the  neck. 

If  we  had  stayed  out  of  the  war,  and  Germany  had  won, 
we  should  have  had  to  defend  the  Monroe  Doctrine  by 
force  or  ab£indon  it ;  and  if  we  abandoned  it  there  would 
have  been  a  German  naval  base  in  the  Caribbean  com- 
manding the  Panama  Canal,  depriving  us  of  that  strategic 
line  which  unites  our  eastern  and  western  coasts,  and 
depriving  us  of  the  protection  the  expanse  of  ocean  once 
gave,  and  an  America  unable  or  unwiUing  to  protect  her- 
self against  the  estabhshment  of  a  German  naval  base  in 
the  Caribbean  would  He  at  the  mercy  of  Germany,  and 
subject  to  Germany's  orders. 

America's  independence  would  be  gone  unless  she  was 
ready  to  fight  for  it,  and  her  security  would  thenceforth 
be  not  a  security  of  freedom,  but  only  a  security  purchased 
by  submission. 

But  if  America  had  stayed  out  of  the  war  and  Germany 
had  won,  could  we  have  defended  the  Monroe  Doctrine? 
Could  we  have  maintained  our  independence?  For  an 
answer  to  that  question  consider  what  we  have  been  doing 
since  the  2d  of  April  last,  when  war  was  declared. 


25£  The  American  Spirit 

Congress  has  been  in  continuous  session,  passing  with 
unprecedented  rapidity  laws  containing  grants  of  power 
and  of  money  unexampled  in  our  history.  The  executive 
establishment  has  been  straining  every  nerve  to  prepare 
for  war.  The  ablest  and  strongest  leaders  of  industrial 
activity  have  been  called  from  all  peirts  of  the  country 
to  aid  the  government. 

The  people  of  the  country  have  generously  responded 
with  noble  loyalty  and  enthusiasm  to  the  call  for  the  sur- 
render of  money  and  of  customary  rights,  and  the  supply 
of  men  to  the  service  of  the  country. 

Nearly  half  a  year  has  passed,  and  still  we  are  not  ready 
to  fight.  I  am  not  blaming  the  government.  It  was 
inevitable.  Preparation  for  modern  war  cannot  be  made 
briefly  or  speedily.  It  requires  time  —  long  periods  of 
time;  and  the  more  peaceful  and  unprepared  for  war  a 
democracy  is  the  longer  is  the  time  required. 

It  would  have  required  just  as  long  for  America  to  pre- 
pare for  war  if  wq  had  stayed  out  of  this  war  and  Germany 
had  won  and  we  had  undertaken  to  defend  the  Monroe 
Doctrine  or  to  defend  our  coasts  when  we  had  lost  the 
protection  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine.  Month  after  month 
would  have  passed  with  no  adequate  army  ready  to  fight, 
just  as  these  recent  months  have  passed. 

But  what  would  Germany  have  been  doing  in  the  mean- 
time ?  How  long  would  it  have  been  before  our  attempts 
at  preparation  would  have  been  stopped  by  German 
arms?  A  country  that  is  forced  to  defend  itself  against 
the  aggression  of  a  military  autocracy  always  prepared  for 
war  must  herself  be  prepared  for  war  beforehand  or  she 
never  will  have  the  opportunity  to  prepare. 

The  history,  the  character,  the  avowed  principles  of 
action,  the  manifest  and  undisguised  purposes  of  the  Ger- 


The  Present  Crisis  253 

man  autocracy  made  it  clear  and  certain  that  if  America 
stayed  out  of  the  great  war,  and  Germany  won,  America 
would  forthwith  be  required  to  defend  herself  and  would 
be  unable  to  defend  herself  against  the  same  lust  for  con- 
quest, the  same  will  to  dominate  the  world,  which  has  made 
Europe  a  bloody  shambles. 

When  Germany  did  actually  apply  her  principles  of 
action  to  us,  and  by  the  invasion  of  Belgium  she  violated 
the  solemn  covenant  she  has  made  with  us  to  observe  the 
law  of  neutrality  estabUshed  for  the  protection  of  peaceful 
states,  when  she  had  arrogantly  demanded  that  American 
commerce  should  surrender  its  lawful  right  of  passage 
upon  the  high  seas  under  penalty  of  destruction,  when 
she  had  sunk  American  ships  and  sent  to  their  death  hun- 
dreds of  American  citizens,  peaceful  men,  women,  and 
children,  when  the  Gulflight  and  the  Falaba  and  the  Persia 
and  the  Arabic  and  the  Sussex  and  the  Lusitania  had  been 
torpedoed  without  warning  in  contempt  of  law  and  of 
humanity,  when  the  German  embassy  at  Washington  had 
been  found  to  be  the  headquarters  of  a  vast  conspiracy  of 
corruption  within  our  country  inciting  sedition  and  con- 
cealing infernal  machines  in  the  cargoes  of  our  ships  and 
blowing  up  our  factories  with  the  workmen  laboring  in 
them,  and  when  the  government  of  Germany  had  been 
discovered  attempting  to  incite  Mexico  and  Japan  to 
form  a  league  with  her  to  attack  us  and  to  bring  about  a 
dismemberment  of  our  territory,  then  the  question  pre- 
sented to  the  American  people  was  not  what  shall  be  done 
regarding  each  of  these  specific  aggressions  taken  by  itself, 
but  what  shall  be  done  by  America  to  defend  her  commerce, 
her  territory,  her  citizens,  her  independence,  her  liberty, 
her  life  as  a  nation  against  the  continuance  of  assaults 
already  begun  by  that  mighty  and  conscienceless  power 


254  '      The  American  Spirit 

which  had  swept  aside  every  restraint  and  every  principle 
of  Christian  civilization  and  was  seeking  to  force  upon  a 
subjugated  world  the  deirk  and  cruel  rule  of  a  barbarous 
past. 

The  question  was  how  shall  peaceful  and  unprepared 
and  liberty  loving  America  save  herself  from  subjection 
to  the  military  power  of  Germany.  There  was  but  one 
possible  answer.  There  was  but  one  chance  for  rescue 
and  that  was  to  act  at  once  while  the  other  democracies 
of  the  world  were  still  maintaining  their  hberty  against 
the  oppressor,  to  prepare  at  once  while  the  armies  and  the 
navies  of  England  and  France  and  Italy  and  Russia  and 
Roumania  were  holding  down  Germany  so  that  she  could 
not  attack  us  while  our  preparation  was  but  half  accom- 
plished, to  strike  while  there  were  alUes  loving  freedom 
like  ourselves  to  strike  with  us,  to  do  our  share  to  prevent 
the  German  Kaiser  from  acquiring  that  domination  over 
the  world  which  would  have  left  us  without  friends  to  aid 
us,  without  preparation,  and  without  the  possibihty  of 
successful  defense. 

The  instinct  of  the  American  democracy  which  led  it 
to  act  when  it  did  arose  from  a  long  delayed  and  reluctant 
consciousness  still  vague  and  half  expressed,  that  this  is 
no  ordinary  war  which  the  world  is  waging.  It  is  no  con- 
test for  petty  poHcies  and  profits.  It  is  a  mighty  and  all- 
embracing  struggle  between  two  conflicting  principles  of 
human  right  and  human  duty. 

It  is  a  conflict  between  the  divine  right  of  kings  to 
govern  mankind  through  armies  and  nobles  and  the  right 
of  the  peoples  of  the  earth  to  toil  and  endure  and  aspire 
to  govern  themselves  by  law  in  the  freedom  of  individual 
manhood. 

It  is  the  climax  of  the  supreme  struggle  between  au- 


The  Present  Crisis  ^55 

tocracy  and  democracy.  No  nation  can  stand  aside  and 
be  free  from  its  effects.  The  two  systems  cannot  endm^e 
together  in  the  same  world. 

If  autocracy  triumphs,  mihtary  power  lustful  of  do- 
minion, supreme  in  strength,  intolerant  of  human  rights, 
holding  itself  superior  to  law,  to  morals,  to  faith,  to  com- 
passion, will  crush  out  the  free  democracies  of  the  world. 
If  autocracy  is  defeated  and  nations  are  compelled  to 
recognize  the  rules  of  law  and  of  morals,  then  and  then 
only  will  democracy  be  safe. 

To  this  great  conflict  for  human  rights  and  human 
liberty  America  has  committed  herself.  There  can  be  no 
backward  step.  There  must  be  either  humiliating  and 
degrading  submission  or  terrible  defeat  or  glorious  victory. 
It  was  no  human  will  that  brought  us  to  this  pass.  It  was 
not  the  President.  It  was  not  Congress.  It  was  not  the 
press.  It  was  not  any  political  party.  It  was  not  any 
section  or  part  of  our  people. 

It  was  that  in  the  providence  of  God  the  mighty  forces 
that  determine  the  destinies  of  mankind  beyond  the  con- 
trol of  human  purpose  have  brought  to  us  the  time,  the 
occasion,  the  necessity,  that  this  peaceful  people  so  long 
enjoying  the  blessings  of  Uberty  and  justice  for  which  their 
fathers  fought  and  sacrificed  shall  again  gird  themselves 
for  conflict,  and  with  all  the  forces  of  manhood  nurtured 
and  strengthened  by  Uberty  offer  again  the  sacrifice  of 
possessions  and  of  Ufe  itself,  that  this  nation  may  still  be 
free,  that  the  mission  of  American  democracy  shall  not 
have  failed,  that  the  world  shall  be  free. 


256  TTie  American  Spirit 

WITH  FIRMNESS  IN  THE  RIGHTS 
Theodore  Roosevelt  (1858-        ) 

Abraham  Lincoln,  with  his  far-seeing  vision  and  his 
shrewd,  homely  common  sense,  set  forth  the  doctrine 
which  is  right  both  as  regards  individuals  and  as  regards 
nations,  when  he  said:  "Stand  with  anybody  that 
stands  right.  Stand  with  him  while  he  is  right  and  part 
with  him  when  he  goes  wrong.  To  desert  such  ground  be- 
cause of  any  company  is  to  be  less  than  a  man,  less  than 
an  American."  As  things  actually  are  at  this  moment, 
it  is  Germany  which  has  offended  against  civihzation  and 
humanity — some  of  the  offenses,  of  a  very  grave  kind, 
being  at  our  own  expense.  It  is  the  Allies  who  are  dedi- 
cated to  the  cause  and  are  fighting  for  the  principles  set 
forth  as  fundamental  in  the  speech  of  Abraham  Lincoln 
at  Gettysburg.  It  is  they  who  have  highly  resolved  that 
their  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain,  and  that  govern- 
ment of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people 
shall  not  perish  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 

.  .  .  Said  Lincoln,  *'  The  issue  before  us  is  distinct,  simple, 
and  inflexible.  It  is  an  issue  which  csui  only  be  tried  by 
war  and  settled  by  victory.  The  war  will  cease  on  the 
part  of  this  government  whenever  it  shall  have  ceased  on 
the  part  of  those  who  began  it.  .  .  .  We  accepted  war 
rather  than  let  the  nation  perish.  With  mahce  towards 
none,  with  charity  for  all,  with  firmness  in  the  right  as 
God  gives  us  to  see  the  right,  let  us  strive  on  to  finish 


iFrom  "Fear  God  and  Take  Your  Own  Part,"  written  in  1914. 
Copyright,  1915  and  1916,  by  Metropolitan  Magazine  Company, 
New  York.     Used  by  permission  of  the  author. 


The  Present  Crisis  257 

the  wort  we  are  in,  and  to  do  all  which  may  achieve  a 
just  and  lasting  peace  among  all  nations." 

Surely,  with  the  barest  change  of  a  few  words,  all  that 
Lincoln  said  appUes  now  to  the  war  the  Allies  are  waging 
on  behalf  of  orderly  liberty  and  self-government  for  the 
peoples  of  mankind.  They  have  accepted  war  rather 
than  let  the  free  nations  of  Europe  perish.  They  must 
strive  on  to  finish  the  work  they  are  in,  and  to  achieve  a 
just  and  lasting  peace  which  shall  redress  wrong  and 
secure  the  Uberties  of  the  nations  which  have  been 
assailed.  .  .  . 

Let  ours  be  true  Americanism,  the  greater  Americanism, 
and  let  us  tolerate  no  other.  Let  us  prepare  ourselves 
for  justice  and  efficiency  within  our  own  border  during 
peace,  for  justice  in  international  relations,  and  for  effi- 
ciency in  war.  Only  thus  shall  we  have  the  peace  worth 
having. 

Let  this  nation  fear  God  and  take  its  own  part.  Let 
it  scorn  to  do  wrong  to  great  or  small.  Let  it  exercise 
patience  and  charity  toward  all  other  peoples,  and  yet  at 
whatever  cost  unflinchingly  stand  for  the  right  when  the 
right  is  menaced  by  the  might  which  backs  wrong.  Let  it 
furthermore  remember  that  the  only  way  in  which  suc- 
cessfully to  oppose  wrong  which  is  backed  by  might  is  to 
put  over  against  it  right  which  is  backed  by  might.  .  .  . 
Until,  as  a  nation,  we  learn  to  put  honor  and  duty  above 
safety,  and  to  encounter  any  hazard  with  stern  joy  rather 
than  fail  in  our  obhgations  to  ourselves  and  to  others,  it 
is  mere  folly  to  talk  of  entering  into  leagues  for  world 
peace  or  into  any  other  movements  of  like  cheu'acter. 
The  only  kind  of  peace  worth  having  is  the  peace  of 
righteousness  and  justice. 


258  The  American  Spirit 

THE  PRUSSIAN  MENACE  ^ 

We  are  face  to  face  with  a  world  crisis.  We  are  in  a 
world  struggle  which  will  determine  for  the  immediate 
future  whether  principles  of  democratic  freedom  or 
principles  of  force  shall  dominate.  The  decision  will 
determine  not  only  the  destiny  of  nations,  but  of  every 
community  and  of  every  individual.  No  life  will  be 
untouched. 

Either  the  principles  of  free  democracy  or  of  Prussian 
miUtaristic  autocracy  will  prevail.  There  can  be  no 
compromises.  So  there  can  be  no  neutrahty  among 
nations  or  individuals ;  we  must  stand  up  and  be  counted 
with  one  cause  or  the  other.  For  Labor  there  is  but  one 
choice. 

The  hope  of  Labor  lies  in  opportunity  for  freedom. 
The  workers  of  America  will  not  permit  themselves  to 
be  deceived  or  to  deceive  themselves  into  thinking  that 
the  fate  of  the  war  will  not  vitally  change  our  own  lives. 
A  victory  for  Germany  would  mean  a  Pan-German  em- 
pire dominating  Europe  and  exercising  a  world  balance 
of  power  which  Germany  will  seek  to  extend  by  force 
into  world  control. 

Prussian  rule  means  supervision,  checks,  unfreedom 
in  every  relation  of  life. 

Prussianism  has  its  roots  in  the  old  ideals  under  which 
men  sought  to  rule  by  suppressing  the  minds  and  wills 
of  their  fellows ;  it  blights  the  new  ideal  of  government 
without  force  of  chains  —  political  or  industrial  —  pro- 
tected by  perfect  freedom  for  all. 

^  From  Declaration  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  issued  at 
Washington,  D.C.,  February  17,  1918.  Used  by  permission  of 
Samuel  Gompers. 


The  Present  Crisis  259 

THE  POISON  GROWTH  OF  PRUSSIANISM  ^ 
Otto  H.  Kahn  (1867-        ) 

There  are  some  of  you,  probably,  who  will  still  find  it 
hard  to  believe  that  the  Germany  you  knew  can  be  guilty 
of  the  crimes  which  have  made  it  an  outlaw  amongst  the 
nations.  But  do  you  know  modern  Germany?  Unless 
you  have  been  there  within  the  last  twenty-five  years, 
not  once  or  twice,  but  at  regular  intervals;  unless  you 
have  looked  below  the  glittering  surface  of  the  marvelous 
material  progress  and  achievement  and  seen  how  the  soul 
of  Germany  was  being  eaten  away  by  the  virulent  poison 
of  Prussianism ;  unless  you  have  watched  and  followed 
the  appalling  transformation  of  German  mentality  and 
moraUty  under  the  nefarious  and  puissant  influence  of 
the  priesthood  of  power- worship,  you  do  not  know  the 
Germany  of  this  day  and  generation. 

It  is  not  the  Germany  of  old,  the  land  of  our  affectionate 
remembrance.  It  is  not  the  Germany  which  men  now 
of  middle  age  or  over  knew  in  their  youth.  It  is  not  the 
Germany  of  the  first  Emperor  WiUiam,  a  modest  and 
God-fearing  gentleman.  It  is  not  the  Germany,  even,  of 
Bismarck,  man  of  blood  and  iron  though  he  was,  who  had 
builded  a  structure  which,  whilst  not  founded  on  hberty, 
yet  was  capable  and  gave  promise  of  going  down  into 
history  as  one  of  the  greatest  examples  of  enlightened  and 
even  beneficent  autocracy ;  who,  in  the  contemplative  and 
mellowed  wisdom  of  his  old  age,  often  warned  the  nation 
against  the  very  spirit  which,  alas,  came  to  have  sway  over 
it,  and  against  the  very  war  which  that  spirit  unchained. 

1  From  an  address  delivered  in  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  January  13, 
1918.  Published  in  "  Right  Above  Race."  Copyright,  1918,  by  The 
Century  Company,  New  York.  Used  by  permission  of  the  author, 
an  American  banker  of  German  birth. 


260  The  American  Spirit 

The  Germany  which  brought  upon  the  world  the  im- 
measurable disaster  of  this  war,  and  at  whose  monstrous 
deeds  and  doctrines  the  civilized  nations  of  the  earth 
stand  aghast,  started  into  definite  being  less  than  thirty 
years  ago.  I  can  almost  lay  my  finger  upon  the  date 
and  circumstances  of  its  ill-omened  advent. 

Less  than  thirty  years  ago,  a  "new  course"  was  flam- 
boyantly proclaimed  by  those  in  authority,  and  the  term 
"new  course"  became  the  order  of  the  day.  With  it  and 
from  it  there  came  a  truly  marvelous  quickening  of  the 
energies  and  creative  abilities  of  the  nation,  a  period  of 
material  achievement  and  of  social  progress,  in  short,  a 
national  forward  movement  almost  unequaled  in  history. 
The  world  looked  on  in  admiration,  perhaps  not  entirely 
free  from  a  tinge  of  envy.  Germany  was  conquering  the 
earth  by  peaceful  penetration ;  and  no  one  stood  in  its  way. 
It  had  free  access  to  all  the  seas  and  all  the  lands. 

But  with  that  "new  course"  and  from  it  there  also 
came  a  new  god,  a  false  and  evil  god.  He  exacted  as 
sacrifices  for  his  altars  the  time-honored  ideals  of  the 
fathers,  and  other  high  and  noble  things.  And  his  com- 
mands were  obeyed. 

There  came  upon  the  German  people  a  whole  train  of 
new  and  baneful  influences  and  impulses,  formidably 
stimulating  as  a  powerful  drug.  There  came,  amongst 
other  evils,  materialism  and  covetousness  and  irreligion ; 
overweening  arrogance  and  impatient  contempt  for  the 
rights  of  the  weak,  a  mania  for  world  dominion,  and  a 
veritable  lunacy  of  power  worship.  There  came  also  a 
fixed  and  irrational  distrust  of  the  intentions  of  other 
nations,  for  the  evil  which  had  crept  into  their  own  souls 
made  them  see  evil  in  others,  and  that  distrust  was  nur- 
tured carefully  and  deliberately  by  those  in  authority. 


The  Present  Crisis  261 

And,  finally,  there  came  "The  Day"  in  which  the  "new 
course,"  fatally  and  inevitably,  was  bound  to  culminate. 
There  came  the  old  temptation,  as  old  as  humanity  itself. 
The  Tempter  took  the  Prussian  and  Prussianized  rulers 
up  a  high  mountain  and  showed  them  all  the  riches  and 
power  of  the  world.  Showed  them  the  great  countries 
and  capitals  of  the  earth  teeming  with  peaceful  labor  — 
Brussels,  Paris,  London,  aye,  and  New  York,  and  told 
them:  "Look  at  these.  Use  your  power  ruthlessly  and 
they  are  yours."  And  those  rulers  did  not  say:  "Get 
thee  behind  me,  Satan";  but  they  said:  "Lead  on, 
Satan,  and  we  shall  follow  thee."  And  follow  him  they 
did,  and  brought  upon  the  green  earth  the  red  ruin  of  hell. 

And  with  rejoicing  they  greeted  "  The  Day."  It  was  to 
bring  them,  as  one  German  in  an  important  position  here 
expressed  it  to  me,  in  August,  1914,  "a  merry  war  and  vic- 
tory before  the  year  is  out." 

THE  WORLD  SAFE  FOR  DEMOCRACY  ^ 

WooDROW  Wilson 

I  have  called  the  Congress  into  extraordinary  session 
because  there  are  serious,  very  serious,  choices  of  policy 

1  This  and  the  following  selections  from  President  Wilson's  war 
speeches  are  given  in  extended  form,  since  they  represent  not  only 
the  spirit  of  the  American  people  but  also  the  highest  purposes 
of  the  Allied  peoples  in  the  present  world  Jitruggle.  As  recognized 
by  all,  and  as  stated  in  the  Preface  to  this  volume,  the  present 
war  —  the  greatest,  the  most  cruel,  the  most  destructive,  and  the 
most  vitally  significant  the  civilized  world  has  ever  known  —  is 
the  ultimate  test  of  the  American  spirit.  By  common  consent 
President  Wilson  has  become  the  spokesman  of  the  world's  democ- 
racy. This  war,  under  his  leadership,  has  become  the  crucial  test 
of  strength,  between  the  spirit  and  purpose  developed  through  the 
entire  history  of  America  as  here  portrayed,  of  freedom,  liberty, 
democracy,  and  fraternity,  and  on  the  other  side  the  spirit  of  force 


262  The  American  Spirit 

to  be  made,  and  made  immediately,  which  it  was  neither 
right  nor  constitutionally  permissible  that  I  should  assume 
the  responsibility  of  making. 

On  the  3d  of  February  last  I  officially  laid  before  you 
the  extraordinary  announcement  of  the  Imperial  German 
Government  that  on  and  after  the  first  day  of  February 
it  was  its  purpose  to  put  aside  all  restraints  of  law  or  of 
humanity  and  use  its  submarines  to  sink  every  vessel  that 
sought  to  approach  either  the  ports  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland  or  the  western  coasts  of  Europe  or  any  of  the  ports 
controlled  by  the  enemies  of  Germany  within  the  Medi- 
terranean. That  had  seemed  to  be  the  object  of  the  Ger- 
man submarine  warfare  earher  in  the  war,  but  since  April 
of  last  year  the  Imperial  Government  had  somewhat 
restrained  the  commanders  of  its  undersea  craft  in  con- 
formity with  its  promise  then  given  to  us  that  passenger- 
boats  should  not  be  sunk,  and  that  due  warning  would  be 
given  to  all  other  vessels  which  its  submarines  might  seek 
to  destroy  where  no  resistance  was  offered  or  escape  at- 
tempted, and  care  taken  that  their  crews  were  given  at 
least  a  feiir  chance  to  save  their  hves  in  their  open  boats. 
The  precautions  taken  were  meager  and  haphazard 
enough,  as  was  proved  in  distressing  instance  after  instance 
in  the  progress  of  the  cruel  and  unmanly  business,  but  a 
certain  degree  of  restraint  was  observed.  The  new  poUcy 
has   swept   every  restriction   aside.     Vessels    of    every 


and  tyranny  as  represented  by  the  military  autocracy  of  the  Ger- 
man government.  Upon  this  test  depends  *the  future  happiness 
of  all  peoples  and  the  progress  of  civilization.  These  selections 
embody  President  Wilson's  great  leadership  in  making  "the  world 
safe  for  democracy." 

From  address  delivered  before  Congress,  April  2,  1917.  In 
pamphlet,  "How  the  War  Came  to  America,"  issued  by  Committee 
on  Public  Information,  Washington,  D.C. 


The  Present  Crisis  263 

kind,  whatever  their  flag,  their  character,  their  cargo, 
their  destination,  their  errand,  have  been  ruthlessly  sent 
to  the  bottom  without  warning,  and  without  thought  of 
help  or  mercy  for  those  on  board,  the  vessels  of  friendly 
neutrals  along  with  those  of  belligerents.  Even  hos- 
pital ships  and  ships  carrying  relief  to  the  sorely  be- 
reaved and  stricken  people  of  Belgium,  though  the  latter 
were  provided  with  safe  conduct  through  the  proscribed 
areas  by  the  German  Government  itself  and  were  dis- 
tinguished by  unmistakable  marks  of  identity,  have  been 
sunk  with  the  same  reckless  lack  of  compassion  or  of 
principle. 

I  was  for  a  little  while  unable  to  believe  that  such  things 
would,  in  fact,  be  done  by  any  government  that  had 
hitherto  subscribed  to  the  humane  practices  of  civilized 
nations.  International  law  had  its  origin  in  the  attempt 
to  set  up  some  law  which  would  be  respected  and  observed 
upon  the  seas,  where  no  nation  had  right  of  dominion, 
and  where  lay  the  free  highways  of  the  world.  By  painful 
stage  after  stage  has  that  law  been  built  up  with  meager 
enough  results,  indeed,  after  all  was  accomplished  that 
could  be  accompUshed,  but  always  with  a  clear  view  at 
least  of  what  the  heart  and  conscience  of  mankind  de- 
manded. This  minimum  of  right  the  German  Government 
has  swept  aside  under  the  plea  of  retaliation  and  necessity, 
and  because  it  had  no  weapons  which  it  could  use  at  sea 
except  these,  which  it  is  impossible  to  employ  as  it  is  em- 
ploying them  without  throwing  to  the  winds  all  scruples 
of  humanity  or  of  respect  for  the  understandings  that 
were  supposed  to  underUe  the  intercourse  of  the  world. 
I  am  not  now  thinking  of  the  loss  of  property  involved, 
immense  and  serious  as  that  is,  but  only  of  the  wanton 
and  wholesale  destruction  of  the  lives  of  noncombatants, 


264  The  American  Spirit 

men,  women,  and  children  engaged  in  pursuits  which  have 
always,  even  in  the  darkest  periods  of  modern  history, 
been  deemed  innocent  and  legitimate.  Property  can  be 
paid  for;  the  lives  of  peaceful  and  innocent  people  can- 
not be.  The  present  German  warfare  against  commerce 
is  a  warfare  against  mankind. 

It  is  a  war  against  all  nations.  American  ships  have 
been  sunk,  American  lives  taken,  in  ways  which  it  has 
stirred  us  very  deeply  to  learn  of,  but  the  ships  and 
people  of  other  neutral  and  friendly  nations  have  been 
sunk  and  overwhelmed  in  the  waters  in  the  same  way. 
There  has  been  no  discrimination.  The  challenge  is  to 
all  mankind.  Each  nation  must  decide  for  itself  how  it 
will  meet  it.  The  choice  we  make  for  ourselves  must  be 
made  with  a  moderation  of  counsel  and  a  temperateness 
of  judgment  befitting  our  character  and  our  motives  as  a 
nation.  We  must  put  excited  feehng  away.  Our  motive 
will  not  be  revenge  or  the  victorious  assertion  of  the 
physical  might  of  the  nation,  but  only  the  vindication 
of  right,  of  human  right,  of  which  we  are  only  a  single 
champion. 

When  I  addressed  the  Congress  on  the  26th  of  February 
last  I  thought  that  it  would  suffice  to  assert  our  neutral 
rights  with  arms,  our  right  to  use  the  seas  against  unlawful 
interference,  our  right  to  keep  our  people  safe  against 
unlawful  violence.  But  our  neutrality,  it  now  appears, 
is  impracticable.  Because  submarines  are  in  effect  out- 
laws when  used  as  the  German  submarines  have  been 
used  against  merchant  shipping,  it  is  impossible  to  de- 
fend ships  against  their  attacks  as  the  law  of  nations 
has  assumed  that  merchantmen  would  defend  themselves 
against  privateers  or  cruisers,  visible  craft  giving  chase 
upon  the  open  sea.     It  is  common  prudence  in  such 


The  Present  Crisis  265 

circumstances,  grim  necessity,  indeed,  to  endeavor  to 
destroy  them  before  they  have  shown  their  own  in- 
tention. They  must  be  dealt  with  upon  sight,  if  dealt 
with  at  all.  •  The  German  Government  denies  the  right 
of  neutrals  to  use  arms  at  all  within  the  areas  of  the  sea 
which  it  has  proscribed,  even  in  the  defense  of  rights 
which  no  modern  publicist  has  ever  before  questioned 
their  right  to  defend.  The  intimation  is  conveyed  that 
the  armed  guards  which  we  have  placed  on  our  merchant- 
ships  will  be  treated  as  beyond  the  pale  of  law  and  sub- 
ject to  be  dealt  with  as  pirates  would  be.  Armed 
neutrahty  is  ineffectual  enough  at  best;  in  such  cir- 
cumstances and  in  the  face  of  such  pretensions  it  is 
worse  than  ineffectual :  it  is  likely  only  to  produce  what 
it  was  meant  to  prevent ;  it  is  practically  certain  to  draw 
us  into  the  war  without  either  the  rights  or  the  effective- 
ness of  belligerents.  There  is  one  choice  we  cannot  make, 
we  are  incapable  of  making :  we  will  not  choose  the  path 
of  submission  and  suffer  the  most  sacred  rights  of  our 
nation  and  our  people  to  be  ignored  or  violated.  The 
wrongs  against  which  we  now  array  ourselves  are  no 
common  wrongs;  they  cut  to  the  very  roots  of  human 
Ufe. 

With  a  profound  sense  of  the  solemn  and  even  tragical 
character  of  the  step  I  am  taking  and  of  the  grave  re- 
sponsibilities which  it  involves,  but  in  unhesitating  obedi- 
ence to  what  I  deem  my  constitutional  duty,  I  advise  that 
the  Congress  declare  the  recent  course  of  the  Imperial 
German  Government  to  be  in  fact  nothing  less  than  war 
against  the  Government  and  people  of  the  United  States ; 
that  it  formally  accept  the  status  of  beUigerent  which  has 
thus  been  thrust  upon  it ;  and  that  it  take  immediate  steps 
not  only  to  put  the  country  in  a  more  thorough  state  of 


266  The  American  Spirit 

defense,  but  also  to  exert  all  its  power  and  employ  all  its 
resources  to  bring  the  Government  of  the  German  Empire 
to  terms  and  end  the  war. 

What  this  will  involve  is  clear.  It  will  involve  the  ut- 
most practicable  cooperation  in  counsel  and  action  with 
the  governments  now  at  war  with  Germany,  and  as  inci- 
dent to  that  the  extension  to  those  governments  of  the 
most  liberal  financial  credits  in  order  that  our  resources 
may  so  far  as  possible  be  added  to  theirs.  It  will  involve 
the  organization  and  mobiUzation  of  all  the  material  re- 
sources of  the  country  to  supply  the  materials  of  war 
and  serve  the  incidental  needs  of  the  nation  in  the  most 
abundant  and  yet  the  most  economical  and  efficient  way 
possible.  It  will  involve  the  immediate  full  equipment  of 
the  navy  in  all  respects,  but  particularly  in  supplying  it  with 
the  best  means  of  deaUng  with  the  enemy's  submarines. 
It  will  involve  the  immediate  addition  to  the  armed 
forces  of  the  United  States  already  provided  for  by  law 
in  case  of  war  at  least  500,000  men,  who  should,  in  my 
opinion,  be  chosen  upon  the  principle  of  universal  liabihty 
to  service,  and  also  the  authorization  of  subsequent  addi- 
tional increments  of  equal  force  so  soon  as  they  may  be 
needed  and  can  be  handled  in  training.  It  will  involve 
also,  of  course,  the  granting  of  adequate  credits  to  the 
Government,  sustained,  I  hope,  so  far  as  they  can 
equitably  be  sustained  by  the  present  generation,  by  well- 
conceived  taxation. 

I  say  sustained  so  far  as  may  be  equitable  by  taxation 
because  it  seems  to  me  that  it  would  be  most  unwise  to 
base  the  credits  which  will  now  be  necessary  entirely  on 
money  borrowed.  It  is  our  duty,  I  most  respectfully 
urge,  to  protect  our  people  so  far  as  we  may  against  the 
very  serious  hardships  and  evils  which  would  be  Hkely  to 


The  Present  Crisis  267 

arise  out  of  the  inflation  which  would  be  produced  by  vast 
loans. 

In  carrying  out  the  measures  by  which  these  things  are 
to  be  accomplished  we  should  keep  constantly  in  mind 
the  wisdom  of  interfering  as  Uttle  as  possible  in  our  own 
preparation  and  in  the  equipment  of  our  own  military 
forces  with  the  duty,  —  for  it  will  be  a  very  practical  duty 
—  of  supplying  the  nations  already  at  war  with  Germany 
with  the  materials  which  they  can  obtain  only  from  us 
or  by  our  assistance.  They  are  in  the  field  and  we  should 
help  them  in  every  way  to  be  effective  there. 

I  shall  take  the  Uberty  of  suggesting,  through  the  several 
executive  departments  of  the  Government,  for  the  con- 
sideration of  your  committees  measures  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  several  objects  I  have  mentioned.  I 
hope  that  it  will  be  your  pleasure  to  deal  with  them  as 
having  been  framed  after  very  careful  thought  by  the 
branch  of  the  Government  upon  which  the  responsibility 
of  conducting  the  war  and  safeguarding  the  nation  will 
most  directly  fall. 

While  we  do  these  things,  these  deeply  momentous 
things,  let  us  be  very  clear  and  make  very  clear  to  all  the 
world  what  our  motives  and  our  objects  are.  My  own 
thought  has  not  been  driven  from  its  habitual  and  normal 
course  by  the  unhappy  events  of  the  last  two  months, 
and  I  do  not  believe  that  the  thought  of  the  nation  has 
been  altered  or  clouded  by  them.  I  have  exactly  the 
same  things  in  mind  now  that  I  had  in  mind  when  I  ad- 
dressed the  Senate  on  the  22d  of  January  last ;  the  same 
that  I  had  in  mind  when  I  addressed  the  Congress  on 
the  3d  of  February  and  on  the  26th  of  February. 
Our  object  now,  as  then,  is  to  vindicate  the  principles 
of  peace  and  justice  in  the  life  of  the  world  as  against 


268  The  American  Spirit 

selfish  and  autocratic  power  and  to  set  up  amongst  the 
really  free  and  self-governed  peoples  of  the  world  such  a 
concert  of  purpose  and  of  action  as  will  henceforth  insure 
the  observance  of  those  principles.  Neutrality  is  no 
longer  feasible  or  desirable  where  the  peace  of  the  world 
is  involved  and  the  freedom  of  its  peoples  and  the  menace 
to  that  peace  and  freedom  lies  in  the  existence  of  auto- 
cratic governments  backed  by  organized  force  which  is 
controlled  wholly  by  their  will,  not  by  the  will  of  their 
people.  We  have  seen  the  last  of  neutrality  in  such 
circumstances.  We  are  at  the  beginning  of  an  age  in 
which  it  will  be  insisted  that  the  same  standards  of 
conduct  and  of  responsibility  for  wrong  done  shall  be 
observed  among  nations  and  their  governments  that 
are  observed  among  the  individual  citizens  of  civilized 
states. 

We  have  no  quarrel  with  the  German  people.  We  have 
no  feeling  towards  them  but  one  of  sympathy  and  friend- 
ship. It  was  not  upon  their  impulse  that  their  Govern- 
ment acted  in  entering  this  war.  It  was  not  with  their 
previous  knowledge  or  approval. 

It  was  a  war  determined  upon  as  wars  used  to  be  deter- 
mined upon  in  the  old,  unhappy  days  when  peoples  were 
nowhere  consulted  by  their  rulers  and  wars  were  provoked 
and  waged  in  the  interest  of  dynasties  or  of  Uttle  groups 
of  ambitious  men  who  were  accustomed  to  use  their  fellow 
men  as  pawns  and  tools.  Self-governed  nations  do  not 
fill  their  neighbor  states  with  spies  or  set  the  course  of 
intrigue  to  bring  about  some  critical  posture  of  affairs 
which  will  give  them  an  opportunity  to  strike  and  make 
conquest.  Such  designs  can  be  successfully  worked  out 
only  under  cover  and  where  no  one  has  the  right  to 
ask  questions.     Cunningly  contrived  plans  of  deception 


The  Present  Crisis  269 

or  aggression,  carried,  it  may  be,  from  generation  to 
generation,  can  be  worked  out  and  kept  from  the  light  only 
within  the  privacy  of  courts  or  behind  the  carefully  guarded 
confidences  of  a  narrow  and  privileged  class.  They  are 
happily  impossible  where  public  opinion  commands  and 
insists  upon  full  information  concerning  all  the  nation's 
affairs. 

A  steadfast  concert  for  peace  can  never  be  maintained 
except  by  a  partnership  of  democratic  nations.  No 
autocratic  government  could  be  trusted  to  keep  faith 
within  it  or  observe  its  covenants.  It  must  be  a  league 
of  honor,  a  partnership  of  opinion.  Intrigue  would  eat 
its  vitals  away ;  the  plottings  of  inner  circles  who  could 
plan  what  they  would  and  render  account  to  no  one  would 
be  a  corruption  seated  at  its  very  heart.  Only  free  peoples 
can  hold  their  purpose  and  their  honor  steady  to  a  common 
end  and  prefer  the  interests  of  mankind  to  any  narrow 
interest  of  their  own. 

Does  not  every  American  feel  that  assurance  has  been 
added  to  our  hope  for  the  future  peace  of  the  world  by  the 
wonderful  and  heartening  things  that  have  been  happening 
within  the  last  few  weeks  in  Russia  .^  ^ 

Russia  was  known  by  those  who  know  it  best  to  have 
been  always  in  fact  democratic  at  heart,  in  all  the  vital 
habits  of  her  thoughts,  in  all  the  intimate  relationships  of 


^  This  address  was  delivered  after  the  overthrow  of  the  autocracy 
represented  by  the  Russian  Czar  and  the  establishment  of  a  Russian 
republic,  but  before  that  republic  was  destroyed  by  the  extreme 
factions  of  communistic  and  anarchistic  beliefs  which  have  been 
at  least  temporarily  in  control  and  have  destroyed  the  Russian 
republic.  In  its  place  they  have  set  up  a  number  of  disconnected 
and  ineffective  local  governments,  and  have  offered  little  opposi- 
tion to  the  designs  of  complete  domination  forced  upon  them  by 
the  German  monarchy  in  the  peace  conferences  at  Brest-Litovsk 
early  in  1918. 


270  The  American  Spirit 

her  people  that  spoke  their  natural  instinct,  their  habitual 
attitude  towards  life. 

The  autocracy  that  crowned  the  summit  of  her  political 
structure,  long  as  it  had  stood  and  terrible  as  was  the 
reality  of  its  power,  was  not  in  fact  Russian  in  origin, 
character,  or  purpose ;  and  now  it  has  been  shaken  off  and 
the  great,  generous  Russian  people  have  been  added,  in 
all  their  native  majesty  and  might,  to  the  forces  that  are 
fighting  for  freedom  in  the  world,  for  justice  and  for  peace. 
Here  is  a  fit  partner  for  a  League  of  Honor. 

One  of  the  things  that  have  served  to  convince  us  that 
the  Prussian  autocracy  was  not  and  could  never  be  our 
friend  is  that  from  the  very  outset  of  the  present  war  it 
has  filled  our  unsuspecting  communities  and  even  our 
offices  of  government  with  spies  and  set  criminal  intrigues 
everywhere  afoot  against  our  national  unity  of  counsel, 
our  peace  within  and  without,  our  industries  and  our 
commerce.  Indeed,  it  is  now  evident  that  its  spies  were 
here  even  before  the  war  began ;  and  it  is  unhappily, 
not  a  matter  of  conjecture,  but  a  fact  proved  in  our  courts 
of  justice,  that  the  intrigues  which  have  more  than  once 
come  perilously  near  to  disturbing  the  peace  and  dis- 
locating the  industries  of  the  country  have  been  carried  on 
at  the  instigation,  with  the  support,  and  even  under 
the  personal  direction,  of  official  agents  of  the  Imperial 
Government  accredited  to  the  Government  of  the  United 
States.  Even  in  checking  these  things  and  trying  to  extir- 
pate them  we  have  sought  to  put  the  most  generous  inter- 
pretation possible  upon  them  because  we  knew  that  their 
source  lay,  not  in  any  hostile  feeling  or  purpose  of  the 
German  people  towards  us  (who  were,  no  doubt,  as  ignorant 
of  them  as  we  ourselves  were),  but  only  in  the  selfish  de- 
signs of  a  government  that  did  what  it  pleased  and  told 


The  Present  Crisis  271 

its  people  nothing.  But  they  have  played  their  part  in 
serving  to  convince  us  at  last  that  that  government  en- 
tertains no  real  friendship  for  us  and  means  to  act  against 
our  peace  and  security  at  its  convenience.  That  it  means 
to  stir  up  enemies  against  us  at  our  very  doors  the  inter- 
cepted note  to  the  German  Minister  at  Mexico  City  is 
eloquent  evidence. 

We  are  accepting  this  challenge  of  hostile  purpose 
because  we  know  that  in  such  a  government,  following 
such  methods,  we  can  never  have  a  friend ;  and  that  in 
the  presence  of  its  organized  power,  always  lying  in  wait 
to  accomplish  we  know  not  what  purpose,  there  can  be 
no  assured  security  for  the  democratic  governments  of  the 
world.  We  are  now  about  to  accept  the  gage  of  battle  with 
this  natural  foe  to  Hberty,  and  shall,  if  necessary,  spend  the 
whole  force  of  the  nation  to  check  and  nullify  its  pre- 
tensions and  its  power.  We  are  glad,  now  that  we  see  the 
facts  with  no  veil  of  false  pretense  about  them,  to  fight 
thus  for  the  ultimate  peace  of  the  world  and  for  the  libera- 
tion of  its  peoples,  the  German  peoples  included  :  for  the 
rights  of  nations  great  and  small  and  the  privilege  of  men 
everywhere  to  choose  their  way  of  life  and  of  obedience. 
The  world  must  be  made  safe  for  democracy.  Its  peace 
must  be  planted  upon  the  tested  foundations  of  political 
hberty.  We  have  no  selfish  ends  to  serve.  We  desire  no 
conquest,  no  dominion.  We  seek  no  indemnities  for  our- 
selves, no  material  compensation  for  the  sacrifices  we  shall 
freely  make.  We  are  but  one  of  the  champions  of  the 
rights  of  mankind.  We  shall  be  satisfied  when  those 
rights  have  been  made  as  secure  as  the  faith  and  the 
freedom  of  nations  can  make  them. 

Just  because  we  fight  without  rancor  and  without 
selfish  objects,  seeking  nothing  for  ourselves  but  what  we 


272  The  American  Spirit 

shall  wish  to  share  with  all  free  peoples,  we  shall,  I  feel 
confident,  conduct  our  operations  as  belligerents  without 
passion  and  ourselves  observe  with  proud  punctilio  the 
principles  of  right  and  of  fair  play  we  profess  to  be  fighting 
for. 

I  have  said  nothing  of  the  governments  alfied  with  the 
Imperial  Government  of  Germany  because  they  have 
not  made  war  upon  us  or  challenged  us  to  defend  our  right 
and  our  honor.  The  Austro-Hungarian  Government  has 
indeed  avowed  its  unqualified  endorsement  and  acceptance 
of  the  reckless  and  lawless  submarine  warfare  adopted 
now  without  disguise  by  the  Imperial  German  Govern- 
ment, and  it  has  therefore  not  been  possible  for  this 
Government  to  receive  Count  Tarnowski,  the  Ambassador 
recently  accredited  to  this  Government  by  the  Imperial 
and  Royal  Government  of  Austria-Hungary ;  but  that 
Government  has  not  actually  engaged  in  warfare  against 
citizens  of  the  United  States  on  the  seas,  and  I  take  the 
liberty,  for  the  present  at  least,  of  postponing  a  discussion 
of  our  relations  with  the  authorities  at  Vienna.  We  enter 
this  war  only  where  we  are  clearly  forced  into  it  because 
there  are  no  other  means  of  defending  our  rights. 

It  will  be  all  the  easier  for  us  to  conduct  ourselves  as 
belligerents  in  a  high  spirit  of  right  and  fairness  because 
we  act  without  animus,  not  in  enmity  towards  a  people  or 
with  the  desire  to  bring  £uiy  injury  or  disadvantage  upon 
them,  but  only  in  armed  opposition  to  an  irresponsible 
government  which  has  thrown  aside  all  considerations 
of  humanity  and  of  right  and  is  running  amuck.  We 
are,  let  me  say  again,  the  sincere  friends  of  the  Ger- 
man people,  and  shall  desire  nothing  so  much  as  the  early 
reestablishment  of  intimate  relations  of  mutual  advan- 
tage between  us,  —  however  hard  it  may  be  for  them,  for 


The  Present  Crisis  273 

the  time  being,  to  believe  that  this  is  spoken  from  om* 
hearts.  We  have  borne  with  their  present  government 
through  all  these  bitter  months  because  of  that  friend- 
ship, —  exercising  a  patience  and  forbearance  which  would 
otherwise  have  been  impossible.  We  shall,  happily,  still 
have  an  opportunity  to  prove  that  friendship  in  our 
daily  attitude  and  actions  towards  the  miUions  of  men 
and  women  of  German  birth  and  native  sympathy  who 
Uve  amongst  us  and  share  our  life,  and  we  shall  be  proud 
to  prove  it  towards  all  who  are,  in  fact,  loyal  to  their 
neighbors  and  to  the  Government  in  the  hour  of  test. 
They  are,  most  of  them,  as  true  and  loyal  Americans  as 
if  they  had  never  known  any  other  fealty  or  allegiance. 
They  will  be  prompt  to  stand  with  us  in  rebuking  and 
restraining  the  few  who  may  be  of  a  different  mind  and 
purpose.  If  there  should  be  disloyalty  it  will  be  dealt 
with  with  a  firm  hand  of  stern  repression  ;  but,  if  it  lifts 
its  head  at  all,  it  will  lift  it  only  here  and  there  and  with- 
out countenance  except  from  a  lawless  and  mahgnant  few. 
It  is  a  distressing  and  oppressive  duty,  gentlemen  of  the 
Congress,  which  I  have  performed  in  thus  addressing 
you.  There  are,  it  may  be,  many  months  of  fiery  trial 
and  sacrifice  ahead  of  us.  It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  lead  this 
great,  peaceful  people  into  war,  into  the  most  terrible  and 
disastrous  of  all  w£u*s,  civilization  itself  seeming  to  be  in 
the  balance.  But  the  right  is  more  precious  than  peace, 
and  we  shall  fight  for  the  things  which  we  have  always 
carried  nearest  our  hearts,  —  for  democracy,  for  the  right 
of  those  who  submit  to  authority  to  have  a  voice  in  their 
own  governments,  for  the  rights  and  liberties  of  small 
nations,  for  a  universal  dominion  of  right  by  such  a  concert 
of  free  peoples  as  shall  bring  peace  and  safety  to  all  nations 
and  make  the  world  itself  at  last  free.    To  such  a  task 


274  The  American  Spirit 

we  can  dedicate  our  lives  and  our  fortunes,  everything 
that  we  are  and  everything  that  we  have,  with  the  pride 
of  those  who  know  that  the  day  has  come  when  America 
is  privileged  to  spend  her  blood  and  her  might  for  the 
principles  that  gave  her  birth  and  happiness  and  the 
peace  which  she  has  treasured.  God  helping  her,  she  can 
do  no  other. 


BATTLE  HYMN   OF  THE  REPUBLIC 

Julia  Ward  Howe  (1819-1910) 

Mine  eyes  have  seen  the  glory  of  the  coming  of  the  Lord ; 
He  is  tramphng  out  the  vintage  where  the  grapes  of 

wrath  are  stored  I 
He  hath  loosed  the  fateful  lightning  of  His  terrible  swift 

sword; 

His  truth  is  marching  on. 

I  have  seen  Him  in  the  watch-fires  of  a  hundred  circling 

camps ; 
They  have  builded  Him  an  altar  in  the  evening  dews  and 

damps ; 
I  can  read  His  righteous  sentence  by  the  dim  and  flaring 

lamps ; 

His  day  is  marching  on. 

I  have  read  a  fiery  gospel,  writ  in  burnished  rows  of  steel : 
*'As  ye  deal  with  My  contemners,  so  with  you  My  grace 

shall  deal ; 
Let  the  Hero,  born  of  woman,  crush  the  serpent  with  his 

heel  — 

Since  God  is  marching  on." 


The  Present  Crisis  275 

He  has  sounded  forth  the  trumpet  that  shall  never  call 

retreat ; 
He  is  sifting  out  the  hearts  of  men  before  His  judgment 

seat ; 
Oh,  be  swift,  my  soul,  to  answer  Him  I  be  jubilant,  my 

feet  I 

Our  God  is  marching  on. 

In  the  beauty  of  the  hhes  Christ  was  born  across  the  sea, 
With  a  glory  in  His  bosom  that  transfigures  you  and  me ; 
As  He  died  to  make  men  holy,  let  us  die  to  make  men 
free. 

While  God  is  marching  on. 

FLAG  DAY  ADDRESS  ^ 

WooDRow  Wilson 

We  meet  to  celebrate  Flag  Day  because  this  flag  which 
we  honor  and  under  which  we  serve  is  the  emblem  of  our 
unity,  our  power,  our  thought  and  purpose  as  a  nation. 
It  has  no  other  chgu-acter  than  that  which  we  give  it  from 
generation  to  generation.  The  choices  are  ours.  It 
floats  in  majestic  silence  above  the  hosts  that  execute 
those  choices,  whether  in  peace  or  in  war.  And  yet, 
though  silent,  it  speaks  to  us,  —  speaks  to  us  of  the  past, 
of  the  men  and  women  who  went  before  us  and  of  the 
records  they  wrote  upon  it.  We  celebrate  the  day  of  its 
birth ;  and  from  its  birth  until  now  it  has  witnessed  a  great 
history,  has  floated  on  high  the  symbol  of  great  events, 
of  a  great  plan  of  fife  worked  out  by  a  great  people.     We 

*  Address  delivered  at  Washington,  D.C.,  on  Flag  Day,  June  14, 
1917.  In  pamphlet  issued  by  the  Committee  on  Pubhc  Informa- 
tion, Washington,  D.C.,  September  15,  1917. 


276  The  American  Spirit 

are  about  to  carry  it  into  battle,  to  lift  it  where  it  will 
draw  the  fire  of  our  enemies.  We  are  about  to  bid  thou- 
sands, hundreds  of  thousands,  it  may  be  millions,  of  our 
men,  the  young,  the  strong,  the  capable  men  of  the  Nation, 
to  go  forth  and  die  beneath  it  on  fields  of  blood  far  away, 
—  for  what  ?  For  some  unaccustomed  thing  ?  For 
something  for  which  it  has  never  sought  the  fire  before? 
American  armies  were  never  before  sent  across  the  seas. 
Why  are  they  sent  now?  For  some  new  purpose,  for 
which  this  great  flag  has  never  been  carried  before  or  for 
some  old,  familiar,  heroic  purpose  for  which  it  has  seen 
men,  its  own  men,  die  on  every  battlefield  upon  which 
Americans  have  borne  arms  since  the  Revolution  ? 

These  are  questions  which  must  be  answered.  We  are 
Americans.  We  in  our  turn  serve  America,  and  can  serve 
her  with  no  private  purpose.  We  must  use  her  flag  as 
she  has  always  used  it.  We  are  accountable  at  the  bar 
of  history  and  must  plead  in  utter  frankness  what  purpose 
it  is  we  seek  to  serve. 

It  is  plain  enough  how  we  were  forced  into  the  war. 
The  extraordinary  insults  and  aggressions  of  the  Imperial 
German  Government  left  us  no  self-respecting  choice  but 
to  take  up  arms  in  defense  of  our  rights  as  a  free  people 
and  of  our  honor  as  a  sovereign  Government.  The  mih- 
tEuy  masters  of  Germany  denied  us  the  right  to  be  neu- 
tral. They  fiUed  our  unsuspecting  communities  with 
vicious  spies  and  conspirators  and  sought  to  corrupt  the 
opinion  of  our  people  in  their  own  behalf.  When  they 
found  that  they  could  not  do  that,  their  agents  diligently 
spread  sedition  amongst  us  and  sought  to  draw  our  own 
citizens  from  their  aUegiance ;  and  some  of  those  agents 
were  men  connected  with  the  official  Embassy  of  the 
German  Government  itself  here  in  our  own  Capital. 


The  Present  Crisis  £77 

They  sought  by  violence  to  destroy  our  industries  and 
arrest  our  commerce.  They  tried  to  incite  Mexico  to 
take  up  arms  against  us  and  to  draw  Japan  into  a 
hostile  alliance  with  her;  and  that,  not  by  indirection, 
but  by  direct  suggestion  from  the  Foreign  Office  in  Ber- 
lin. They  impudently  denied  us  the  use  of  the  high  seas 
and  repeatedly  executed  their  threat  that  they  would 
send  to  their  death  any  of  our  people  who  ventured  to 
approach  the  coasts  of  Europe. 

And  many  of  our  own  people  were  corrupted.  Men 
began  to  look  upon  their  own  neighbors  with  suspicion 
and  to  wonder  in  their  hot  resentment  and  surprise 
whether  there  was  any  community  in  which  hostile  in- 
trigue did  not  lurk.  What  great  nation  in  such  circum- 
stances would  not  have  taken  up  arms?  Much  as  we 
had  desired  peace,  it  was  denied  us,  and  not  of  our  own 
choice.  This  flag  under  which  we  serve  would  have  been 
dishonored  had  we  withheld  our  hand. 

But  that  is  only  part  of  the  story.  We  know  now  as 
clearly  as  we  knew  before  we  were  ourselves  engaged  that 
we  are  not  the  enemies  of  the  German  people  and  that 
they  are  not  our  enemies.  They  did  not  originate  or  de- 
sire this  hideous  war  or  wish  that  we  should  be  drawn  into 
it;  and  we  are  vaguely  conscious  that  we  are  fighting 
their  cause,  as  they  will  some  day  see  it,  as  well  as  our  own. 

They  are  themselves  in  the  grip  of  the  same  sinister 
power  that  has  now  at  last  stretched  its  ugly  talons  out 
and  drawn  blood  from  us. 

The  whole  world  is  at  war  because  the  whole  world  is 
in  the  grip  of  that  power  and  is  trying  out  the  great 
battle  which  shall  determine  whether  it  is  to  be  brought 
under  its  mastery  or  fling  itself  free. 

The  war  was  begun  by  the  military  masters  of  Germany, 


278  The  American  Spirit 

who  proved  to  be  also  the  masters  of  Austria-Hungary. 
These  men  have  never  regarded  nations  as  peoples,  men, 
women,  and  children  of  like  blood  and  frame  as  them- 
selves, for  whom  governments  existed  and  in  whom  gov- 
ernments had  their  life.  They  have  regarded  them 
merely  as  serviceable  organizations  which  they  could  by 
force  or  intrigue  bend  or  corrupt  to  their  own  purpose. 
They  have  regarded  the  smaller  states,  in  particular,  and 
the  peoples  who  could  be  overwhelmed  by  force,  as  their  nat- 
ural tools  and  instruments  of  domination.  Their  purpose 
has  long  been  avowed.  The  statesmen  of  other  nations,  to 
whom  that  purpose  was  incredible,  paid  Httle  attention ; 
regarded  what  German  professors  expounded  in  their 
classrooms  and  German  writers  set  forth  to  the  world  as 
the  goal  of  German  policy  as  rather  the  dream  of  minds 
detached  from  practical  affairs,  as  preposterous  private 
conceptions  of  German  destiny,  than  as  the  actual  plans 
of  responsible  rulers.  But  the  rulers  of  Germany  them- 
selves knew  all  the  while  what  concrete  plans,  what  well 
advanced  intrigues  lay  back  of  what  the  professors  and 
the  writers  were  saying,  and  were  glad  to  go  forward  un- 
molested, fiUing  the  thrones  of  Balkan  states  with  German 
princes,  putting  German  officers  at  the  service  of  Turkey  to 
drill  her  armies  and  make  interest  with  her  government, 
developing  plans  of  sedition  and  rebellion  in  India  and 
Egypt,  setting  their  fires  in  Persia. 

The  demands  made  by  Austria  upon  Serbia  were  a 
mere  single  step  in  a  plan  which  compassed  Europe  and 
Asia,  from  Berlin  to  Bagdad.  They  hoped  those  de- 
mands might  not  arouse  Europe,  but  they  meant  to  press 
them  whether  they  did  or  not,  for  they  thought  them- 
selves ready  for  the  final  issue  of  arms. 

Their  plan  was  to  throw  a  broad  belt  of  German  mill- 


The  Present  Crisis  279 

tary  power  and  political  control  across  the  very  center  of 
Europe  and  beyond  the  Mediterranean  into  the  heart  of 
Asia ;  and  Austria-Hungary  was  to  be  as  much  their  tool 
and  pawn  as  Serbia  or  Bulgaria  or  Turkey  or  the  ponderous 
states  of  the  East.  Austria-Hungary,  indeed,  was  to 
become  part  of  the  Central  German  Empire,  absorbed 
and  dominated  by  the  same  forces  and  influences  that  had 
originally  cemented  the  German  states  themselves.  The 
dream  had  its  heart  at  Berlin.  It  could  have  had  a  heart 
nowhere  else ! 

It  rejected  the  idea  of  solidarity  of  race  entirely.  The 
choice  of  peoples  played  no  part  in  it  at  all.  It  con- 
templated binding  together  racial  and  political  units 
which  could  be  kept  together  only  by  force  —  Czechs, 
Magyars,  Croats,  Serbs,  Roumanians,  Turks,  Armenians, 
—  the  proud  states  of  Bohemia  and  Hungary,  the  stout 
little  commonwealths  of  the  Balkans,  the  indomitable 
Turks,  the  subtle  peoples  of  the  East. 

These  peoples  did  not  wish  to  be  united.  They 
ardently  desired  to  direct  their  own  afi'airs,  would  be 
satisfied  only  by  undisputed  independence.  They  could 
be  kept  quiet  only  by  the  presence  or  the  constant  threat 
of  armed  men.  They  would  Uve  under  a  common 
power  only  by  sheer  compulsion  and  await  the  day  of 
revolution. 

But  the  German  mihtary  statesmen  had  reckoned  with 
all  that  and  were  ready  to  deal  with  it  in  their  own  way. 

And  they  have  actually  carried  the  greater  part  of  that 
amazing  plan  into  execution !  Look  how  things  stand. 
Austria  is  at  their  mercy.  It  has  acted,  not  upon  its  own 
initiative  or  upon  the  choice  of  its  own  people,  but  at 
Berlin's  dictation  ever  since  the  war  began.  Its  people 
now  desire  peace,  but  cannot  have  it  until  leave  is  granted 


280  The  American  Spirit 

from  Berlin.  The  so-called  Central  Powers  are  in  fact 
but  a  single  Power.  Serbia  is  at  its  mercy,  should  its  hands 
be  but  for  a  moment  freed.  Bulgaria  has  consented  to 
its  will,  and  Roumania  is  overrun.  The  Turkish  armies, 
which  Germans  trained,  are  serving  Germany,  certainly 
not  themselves,  and  the  guns  of  German  warships  lying 
in  the  harbor  at  Constantinople  remind  Turkish  states- 
men every  day  that  they  have  no  choice  but  to  take  their 
orders  from  Berlin.  From  Hamburg  to  the  Persian  Gulf 
the  net  is  spread. 

Is  it  not  easy  to  understand  the  eagerness  for  peace 
that  has  been  manifested  from  BerUn  ever  since  the  snare 
was  set  and  sprung?  Peace,  peace,  peace  has  been  the 
talk  of  her  Foreign  Office  for  now  a  year  and  more ;  not 
peace  upon  her  own  initiative,  but  upon  the  initiative  of 
the  nations  over  which  she  now  deems  herself  to  hold  the 
advantage.  A  Uttle  of  the  talk  has  been  pubHc,  but 
most  of  it  has  been  private.  Through  all  sorts  of  channels 
it  has  come  to  me,  and  in  all  sorts  of  guises,  but  never  with 
the  terms  disclosed  which  the  German  Government  would 
be  willing  to  accept. 

That  government  has  other  valuable  pawns  in  its  hands 
besides  those  I  have  mentioned.  It  still  holds  a  valuable 
part  of  France,  though  with  slowly  relaxing  grasp,  and 
practically  the  whole  of  Belgium.  Its  armies  press  close 
upon  Russia  and  overrun  Poland  at  their  will.  It  cannot 
go  further ;  it  dare  not  go  back.  It  wishes  to  close  its 
bargain  before  it  is  too  late  and  it  has  left  little  to  offer 
for  the  pound  of  flesh  it  will  demand. 

The  military  masters  under  whom  Germany  is  bleeding 
see  very  clearly  to  what  point  Fate  has  brought  them. 
If  they  fall  back  or  are  forced  back  an  inch,  their  power 
both  abroad  and  at  home  will  fall  to  pieces  like  a  house  of 


The  Present  Crisis  281 

cards.  It  is  their  power  at  home  they  are  thinking  about 
now  more  than  their  power  abroad.  It  is  that  power 
which  is  trembling  under  their  very  feef ;  and  deep  fear 
has  entered  their  hearts.  They  have  but  one  chance  to 
perpetuate  their  miUtary  power  or  even  their  controUing 
poHtical  influence.  If  they  can  secure  peace  now  with  the 
immense  advantages  still  in  their  hands  which  they  have 
up  to  this  point  apparently  gained,  they  will  have  justified 
themselves  before  the  German  people;  they  will  have 
gained  by  force  what  they  promised  to  gain  by  it :  an 
immense  expansion  of  German  power,  an  immense  en- 
largement of  German  industrial  and  commercial  oppor- 
tunities. Their  prestige  will  be  secure,  and  with  their 
prestige  their  poHtical  power.  If  they  fail,  their  people 
will  thrust  them  aside ;  a  government  accountable  to  the 
people  themselves  will  be  set  up  in  Germany  as  it  has  been 
in  England,  in  the  United  States,  in  France,  and  in  all  the 
great  countries  of  the  modern  time  except  Germany.  If 
they  succeed,  they  are  safe  and  Germany  and  the  world 
are  undone ;  if  they  fail,  Germany  is  saved  and  the  world 
will  be  at  peace.  If  they  succeed,  America  will  fall  within 
the  menace.  We  and  all  the  rest  of  the  world  must  re- 
main armed,  as  they  will  remain,  and  must  make  ready 
for  the  next  step  in  their  aggression ;  if  they  fail,  the  world 
may  unite  for  peace  and  Germany  may  be  of  the  union. 

Do  you  not  now  understand  the  new  intrigue,  the  in- 
trigue for  peace,  and  why  the  masters  of  Germany  do  not 
hesitate  to  use  any  agency  that  promises  to  effect  their  pur- 
pose, the  deceit  of  the  nations  ?  Their  present  particular 
aim  is  to  deceive  all  those  who  throughout  the  world  stand 
for  the  rights  of  peoples  and  the  self-government  of  na- 
tions ;  for  they  see  what  immense  strength  the  forces  of 
justice  and  of  liber ahsm  are  gathering  out  of  this  war. 


282  The  American  Spirit 

They  are  employing  liberals  in  their  enterprise.  They 
are  using  men,  in  Germany  and  without,  as  their  spokes- 
men whom  they  have  hitherto  despised  and  oppressed, 
using  them  for  their  own  destruction  —  Sociahsts,  the 
leaders  of  labor,  the  thinkers  they  have  hitherto  sought 
to  silence.  Let  them  once  succeed  and  these  men,  now 
their  tools,  will  be  ground  to  powder  beneath  the  weight 
of  the  great  military  empire  they  will  have  set  up ;  the 
revolutionists  in  Russia  will  be  cut  off  from  all  succor  or 
cooperation  in  western  Europe  and  a  counter  revolution 
fostered  and  supported;  Germany  herself  will  lose  her 
chance  of  freedom ;  and  all  Europe  will  arm  for  the  next, 
the  final  struggle. 

The  sinister  intrigue  is  being  no  less  actively  conducted 
in  this  country  than  in  Russia  and  in  every  country  in 
Europe  to  which  the  agents  and  dupes  of  the  Imperial 
German  Government  can  get  access.  That  government 
has  many  spokesmen  here,  in  places  high  and  low.  They 
have  learned  discretion.  They  keep  within  the  law.  It 
is  opinion  they  utter  now,  not  sedition.  They  proclaim 
the  hberal  purposes  of  their  masters ;  declare  this  a  foreign 
war  which  can  touch  America  with  no  danger  to  either 
her  lands  or  her  institutions ;  set  England  at  the  center 
of  the  stage  and  talk  of  her  ambition  to  assert  economic 
dominion  throughout  the  world ;  appeal  to  oiu*  ancient 
tradition  of  isolation  in  the  poUtics  of  the  nations ;  and 
seek  to  undermine  the  Government  with  false  professions 
of  loyalty  to  its  principles. 

But  they  will  make  no  headway.  The  false  betray 
themselves  always  in  every  accent.  It  is  only  friends 
and  partisans  of  the  German  Government  whom  we  have 
already  identified  who  utter  these  thinly  disguised  dis- 
loyalties.   The  facts  are  patent  to  all  the  world,  and  no- 


The  Present  Crisis  283 

where  are  they  more  plainly  seen  than  in  the  United 
-States,  where  we  are  accustomed  to  deal  with  facts  and 
not  with  sophistries ;  and  the  great  fact  that  stands  out 
above  all  the  rest  is  that  this  is  a  people's  war,  a  war  for 
freedom  and  justice  and  self-government  amongst  all  the 
nations  of  the  world,  a  war  to  make  the  world  safe  for 
the  peoples  who  Uve  upon  it  and  have  made  it  their  own, 
the  German  people  themselves  included ;  .and  that  with 
us  rests  the  choice  to  break  through  all  these  hypocrisies 
and  patent  cheats  and  masks  of  brute  force  and  help  set 
the  world  free,  or  else  stand  aside  and  let  it  be  dominated 
a  long  age  through  by  sheer  weight  of  arms  and  the 
arbitrary  choices  of  self-constituted  masters,  by  the  na- 
tion which  can  maintain  the  biggest  armies  and  the 
most  irresistible  armaments  —  a  power  to  which  the 
world  has  afforded  no  parallel  and  in  the  face  of  which 
political  freedom  must  wither  and  perish. 

For  us  there  is  but  one  choice.  We  have  made  it. 
Woe  be  to  the  man  or  group  of  men  that  seeks  to  stand 
in  our  way  in  this  day  of  high  resolution  when  every  prin- 
ciple we  hold  dearest  is  to  be  vindicated  and  made  secure 
for  the  salvation  of  the  nations.  We  are  ready  to  plead 
at  the  bar  of  history,  and  our  flag  shall  wear  a  new  luster. 
Once  more  we  shall  make  good  with  our  lives  and  fortunes 
the  great  faith  to  which  we  were  born,  and  a  new  glory 
shall  shine  in  the  face  of  our  people. 


284                      The  American  Spirit  ' 

ARMAGEDDON!  ' 

Sir  Edwin  Arnold  (1832-1904)  • 

Marching  down  to  Armageddon  — 

Brothers,  stout  and  strong ! 

Let  us  cheer  the  way  we  tread  on  : 

With  a  soldier's  song ! 
Faint  we  by  the  weary  road, 

Or  fall  we  in  the  rout,  : 

Dirge  or  Psean,  Death  or  Triumph  —  i 

Let  the  song  ring  out  I  \ 

We  are  they  who  scorn  the  scorners  —  i 

Love  the  lovers  —  hate  i 

None  within  the  world's  four  corners  — 

All  must  share  one  fate ;  ' 

We  are  they  whose  common  banner  * 

Bears  no  badge  or  sign,  , 

Save  the  Light  which  dyes  it  white  —  * 

The  Hope  that  makes  it  shine.  | 

i 

We  are  they  whose  bugle  rings,  ^ 

That  all  the  wars  may  cease ;  I 

We  are  they  will  pay  the  Kings  | 

Their  cruel  price  for  Peace ;  \ 

,  j 

^  It  has  been  recognized  since  the  beginning  of  the  Great  War  that  \ 

for  a  score  of  years  before  its  beginning  Europe  was  an  armed  I 

camp  which  might  at  any  time  break  forth  into  a  world  conflict,  ; 

and  that  the  most  far-seeing  and  peace-loving  European  statesmen  \ 

fully  understood  the  gravity  of  the  situation.     Little  was  openly  j 

said  for  fear  of  provoking  resentments,  but  the  possible  imminence  j 

of  "  Armageddon "  was  hinted  at  now  and  then.     The  view  that  i 

should  it  come  it  must  be  the  last  great  war  is  expressed  by  Sir  i 

Edwin  Arnold,  poet  and  Orientalist,  in  this  poem.  j 

From    Edwin    Arnold's    Poetical    Works,    Vol.    II.     Copyright,  ' 

1880,  1889,  by  Roberts  Brothers,  Boston.  j 


The  Present  Crisis  285 

I 

We  are  they  whose  steadfast  watchword  : 

Is  what  Christ  did  teach  —  j 

*'  Each  man  for  his  brother  first  —  \ 

And  Heaven,  then,  for  each.'*  .; 

We  are  they  who  will  not  falter  —  .} 

Many  swords  or  few  —                                                     .  ] 

Till  we  make  this  earth  the  altar  \ 

Of  a  worship  new ;  j 

We  are  they  who  will  not  take  ,. 

From  palace,  priest,  or  code,  i 

A  meaner  law  than  "Brotherhood'*  —  i 

A  lower  Lord  than  God.  I 

Marching  down  to  Armageddon  —  i 

Brothers,  stout  and  strong  I  j 
Ask  not  why  the  way  we  tread  on                                             .  i 

Is  so  rough  and  long  1  \ 

God  wiU  teU  us  when  our  spirits  I 

Grow  to  grasp  His  plan  I 
Let  us  do  our  part  today  — 

And  help  Him,  helping  Man  I  ■ 

Shall  we  even  curse  the  madness,  : 

Which  for  "  ends  of  State  **  ' 

Dooms  us  to  the  long,  long  madness  ] 

Of  this  human  hate  ?  1 

Let  us  slay  in  perfect  pity  j 

Those  that  must  not  live ;  ; 

Vanquish  and  forgive  our  foes  —  > 

Or  fall  —  and  still  forgive  I  ] 

We  are  those  whose  unpaid  legions, 

In  free  ranks  arrayed,  • 


The  American  Spirit 

Massacred  in  many  regions  — 
Never  once  were  stayed : 

We  are  they  whose  torn  battahons, 
Trained  to  bleed,  not  fly, 

Make  our  agonies  a  triumph,  — 

,    Conquer,  while  we  die ! 

Therefore,  down  to  Armageddon  — 

Brothers,  bold  and  strong  — 
Cheer  the  glorious  way  we  tread  on 

With  this  soldier's  song ! 
Let  the  armies  of  the  old  Flags 

March  in  silent  dread : 
Death  and  Life  are  one  to  us. 

Who  fight  for  Quick  and  Dead  I 


THE   MEANING  OF   AMERICAN   DEMOCRACY  i 

WooDROw  Wilson 

The  war  was  started  by  Germany.  Her  authorities 
deny  that  they  started  it,  but  I  am  wilhng  to  let  the 
statement  I  have  just  made  await  the  verdict  of  history. 
And  the  thing  that  needs  to  be  explained  is  why  Germany 
started  the  war.^  Remember  what  the  position  of  Ger- 
many in  the  world  was  —  as  enviable  a  position  as  any 

^  From  an  address  delivered  before  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor  at  Buffalo,  New  York,  November  12,  1917.  In  pamphlet 
entitled  "War,  Labor,  and  Peace,"  issued  by  Committee  on  Public 
Information,  Washington,  D.C. 

•The  recent  disclosures  (April,  1918)  of  Prince  Lichnowsky,  the 
.  Imperial  German  ambassador  to  Great  Britain  until  the  outbreak 
of  the  war  (1914),  gives  official  German  evidence  to  the  fact  that 
Germany  desired  the  war  and  precipitated  it  and  that  Great  Britain 
did  all  that  was  possible  to  avoid  it. 


The  Present  Crisis  287 

'nation  has  ever  occupied.  The  whole  world  stood  at 
admiration  of  her  wonderful  intellectual  and  material 
achievements.  All  the  intellectual  men  of  the  world  went 
to  school  to  her.  As  a  university  man  I  have  been  sur- 
rounded by  men  trained  in  Germany,  men  who  had 
resorted  to  Germany  because  nowhere  else  could  they  get 
such  thorough  and  searching  training,  particularly  in  the 
principles  of  science  and  the  principles  that  underlie 
modern  material  achievements.  Her  men  of  science  had 
made  her  industries  perhaps  the  most  competent  industries 
of  the  world,  and  the  label,  *'Made  in  Germany,"  was  a 
guarantee  of  good  workmanship  and  of  sound  material. 
She  had  access  to  all  the  markets  of  the  world,  and 
every  other  man  who  traded  in  those  markets  feared 
Germany  because  of  her  effective  and  almost  irresistible 
competition.  She  had  a  "  place  in  the  sun."  Why  was 
she  not  satisfied  ?  What  more  did  she  want  ?  There  was 
nothing  in  the  world  of  peace  that  she  did  not  already 
have  and  have  in  abundance.  We  boast  of  the  extraor- 
dinary pace  of  American  advancement.  We  show  with 
pride  the  statistics  of  the  increase  of  our  industries 
and  of  the  population  of  our  cities.  Well,  those  statistics 
did  not  match  the  recent  statistics  of  Germany.  Her. 
old  cities  took  on  youth,  grew  faster  than  any  American 
cities  ever  grew.  Her  old  industries  opened  their  eyes 
and  saw  a  new  world  and  went  out  for  its  conquest.  And 
yet  the  authorities  of  Germany  were  not  satisfied.  You 
have  one  part  of  the  answer  to  the  question  why 
she  was  not  satisfied  in  her  methods  of  competition. 
There  is  no  important  industry  in  Germany  upon  which 
the  government  has  not  laid  its  hands  to  direct  it,  and 
when  necessity  arose,  control  it ;  and  you  have  only  to 
ask  any  man  whom  you  meet,  who  is  familiar  with  the 


288  The  American  Spirit 

conditions  that  prevailed  before  the  war  in  the  matter  of* 
national  competition,  to  find  out  the  methods  of  com- 
petition which  the  German  manufactm*ers  and  exporters 
used  under  the  patronage  and  support  of  the  Government 
of  Germany.  You  will  find  that  they  were  the  same  sorts 
of  competition  that  we  have  tried  to  prevent  by  law  within 
our  own  borders.  If  they  could  not  sell  their  goods  cheaper 
than  we  could  sell  ours  at  a  profit  to  themselves,  they 
could  get  a  subsidy  from  the  Government  which  made  it 
possible  to  sell  them  cheaper  anyhow,  and  the  conditions 
of  competition  were  thus  controlled  in  large  measure  by 
the  German  Government  itself. 

But  that  did  not  satisfy  the  German  Government.  All 
the  while  there  was  lying  behind  its  thought,  in  its 
dreams  of  the  future,  a  pohtical  control  which  would 
enable  it  in  the  long  run  to  dominate  the  labor  and  the 
industry  of  the  world.  They  were  not  content  with  suc- 
cess by  superior  achievement;  they  wanted  success  by 
authority.  I  suppose  few  of  you  have  thought  much 
about  the  Berhn-to-Bagdad  railway.^  The  Berlin-Bagdad 
redlway  was  constructed  in  order  to  run  the  threat  of  force 
down  the  flank  of  the  industrial  undertakings  of  half  a 
dozen  other  countries ;  so  that  when  German  competition 
came  in  it  would  not  be  resisted  too  far,  because  there  was 

^  This  reference  is  to  the  hnes  of  railway  being  built  from  Con- 
stantinople through  A.sia  Minor  and  Bagdad  in  Mesopotamia  to 
the  Persian  Gulf.  This  road  is  completed  through  three  fourths  of 
the  distance,  and  its  use  as  a  military  menace  by  Germany  was  one  of 
the  indirect  causes  of  the  war.  The  road  connects  with  the  line 
long  in  operation  from  BerUn  to  Constantinople.  While  it  would 
be  of  great  economic  advantage  to  the  regions  of  the  Turkish  Em- 
pire through  which  it  would  pass,  as  well  as  to  its  German  owners, 
its  significance  is  largely  political.  Through  it  the  German  Empire 
strove  to  weaken  the  influence  of  Great  Britain  and  France  in  their 
dependencies  in  the  near  East.  Thus  it  became  a  distinct  military 
threat  to  the  British  government  in  India  and  in  Egypt,  and  to  the 
control  of  the  Suez  Canal. 


The  Present  Crisis  289 

always  the  possibility  of  getting  German  armies  into  the 
heart  of  that  country  quicker  than  any  other  armies  could 
be  got  there. 

Look  at  the  map  of  Europe  now  I  Germany,  in  thrust- 
ing upon  us  again  and  again  the  discussion  of  peace,  talks 
about  what  ?  Talks  about  Belgium ;  talks  about  northern 
France ;  talks  about  Alsace-Lorraine.  Well,  those  are 
deeply  interesting  subjects  to  us  and  to  them,  but  they 
are  not  talking  about  the  heart  of  the  matter.  Take  the 
map  and  look  at  it.  Germany  has  absolute  control  of 
Austria-Hungary,  practical  control  of  the  Balkan  states, 
control  of  Turkey,  control  of  Asia  Minor.  I  saw  a 
map  in  which  the  whole  thing  was  printed  in  appropriate 
black  the  other  day  and  the  black  stretched  all  the  way 
from  Hamburg  to  Bagdad  —  the  bulk  of  German  power 
inserted  into  the  heart  of  the  world. 

If  she  can  keep  that,  she  has  kept  all  that  her  dreams 
contemplated  when  the  war  began.  If  she  can  keep  that, 
her  power  can  disturb  the  world  as  long  as  she  keeps  it, 
always  provided,  —  for  I  feel  bound  to  put  this  proviso  in, 
always  provided  the  present  influences  that  control  the 
German  Government  continue  to  control  it.  I  believe 
that  the  spirit  of  freedom  can  get  into  the  hearts  of 
German^  and  find  as  fiiie  a  welcome  there  as  it  can  find 
in  any  other  hearts.  But  the  spirit  of  freedom  does 
not  suit  the  plans  of  the  Pan-Germans.^  Power  can- 
not be  used  with  concentrated  force  against  free  peoples  if 
it  is  used  by  free  people. 

*  The  term  applied  to  the  German  poUtical  party  or  section  of 
the  people  which  was  largely  responsible  for  the  war.  This  party 
aimed  to  extend  the  political  power  of  Germany  over  the  regions 
traversed  by  the  Berlin-Bagdad  Railway  as  well  as  through  small 
neighboring  nationalities,  as  with  Belgium.  In  fact,  the  views  of 
many  of  this  group  do  not  stop  short  of  world  domination. 


290  The  American  Spirit 

You  know  how  many  intimations  come  to  us  from  one 
of  the  Central  Powers  that  it  is  more  anxious  for  peace 
than  the  Chief  Central  Power ;  and  you  know  that  it  means 
that  the  people  in  that  Central  Power  know  that  if  the  war 
ends  as  it  stands,  they  will  in  effect  themselves  be  vassals 
of  Germany,  notwithstanding  that  their  populations  are 
compounded  of  all  the  peoples  of  that  part  of  the  world, 
and  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  they  do  not  wish  in 
their  pride  and  proper  spirit  of  nationality  to  be  so 
absorbed  and  dominated.  Germany  is  determined  that 
the  political  power  of  the  world  shall  belong  to  her.  There 
have  been  such  ambitions  before.  They  have  been  in 
pEirt  reaUzed,  but  never  before  have  those  ambitions 
been  based  upon  so  exact  and  precise  and  scientific  a 
plan  of  domination. 

May  I  not  say  that  it  is  amazing  to  me  that  any  group 
of  persons  should  be  so  ill-informed  as  to  suppose,  as 
some  groups  in  Russia  apparently  suppose,  that  any  re- 
forms planned  in  the  interest  of  the  people  can  live  in  the 
presence  of  a  Germany  powerful  enough  to  undermine  or 
overthrow  them  by  intrigue  or  force  ?  Any  body  of  free 
men  that  compounds  with  the  present  German  Government 
is  compounding  for  its  own  destruction.  But  that  is  not 
the  whole  of  the  story.  Any  man  in  America,-  or  any- 
where else,  that  supposes  that  the  free  industry  and  enter- 
prise of  the  world  can  continue  if  the  Pan-German  plan  is 
achieved  and  German  power  fastened  upon  the  world  is 
as  fatuous  ac  the  dreamers  in  Russia.  What  I  am  opposed 
to  is  not  the  feeling  of  the  pacifists,  but  their  stupidity. 
My  heart  is  with  them,  but  my  mind  has  a  contempt  for 
them.  I  want  peace,  but  I  know  how  to  get  it,  and  they 
do  not. 

You  will  notice  that  I  sent  a  friend  of  mine,  Colonel 


The  Present  Crisis  291 

House,  to  Europe,  who  is  as  great  a  lover  of  peace  as  any 
man  in  the  world,  but  I  did  not  send  him  on  a  peace  mis- 
sion yet.  I  sent  him  to  take  part  in  a  conference  as  to  how 
the  war  was  to  be  won,  and  he  knows,  as  I  know,  that 
that  is  the  way  to  get  peace,  if  you  want  it  for  more  than 
a  few  minutes. 

All  of  this  is  a  preface  to  the  conference  that  I  have  referred 
to  with  regard  to  what  we  are  going  to  do.  If  we  are  true 
friends  of  freedom  of  our  own  or  anybody  else's,  we 
will  see  that  the  power  of  this  country  and  the  productivity 
of  this  country  is  raised  to  its  absolute  maximum  and  that 
absolutely  nobody  is  allowed  to  stand  in  the  way  of  it. 
When  I  say  that  nobody  is  allowed  to  stand  in  the  way, 
I  do  not  mean  that  they  shall  be  prevented  by  the  power 
of  the  Government,  but  by  the  power  of  the  Americai: 
spirit.  Our  duty,  if  we  are  to  do  this  great  thing  and  show 
America  to  be  what  we  beheve  her  to  be,  —  the  greatest 
hope  and  energy  of  the  world,  is  to  stand  together  night 
and  day  until  the  job  is  finished. 

While  we  are  fighting  for  freedom  we  must  see,  among 
other  things,  that  labor  is  free,  and  that  means  a  number 
of  interesting  things.  It  means  not  only  that  we  must  do 
what  we  have  declared  our  purpose  to  do,  see  that  the 
conditions  of  labor  are  not  rendered  more  onerous  by  the 
war,  but  also  that  we  shall  see  to  it  that  the  instru- 
mentalities by  which  the  conditions  of  labor  are  improved 
are  not  blocked  or  checked.  That  we  must  do.  That 
has  been  the  matter  about  which  I  have  taken  pleasure 
in  conferring  from  time  to  time  with  your  president,  Mr. 
Gompers ;  and,  if  I  may  be  permitted  to  do  so,  I  want 
to  express  my  admiration  of  his  patriotic  courage,  his 
large  vision,  and  his  statesmanlike  sense  of  what  is  to  be 
done.     I  hke  to  lay  my  mind  alongside  of  a  mind  that 


292  The  American  Spirit 

knows  how  to  pull  in  harness.     The  horses  that  kick  over 
the  traces  will  have  to  be  put  in  corral.  .  .  . 

Therefore,  my  counsel  to  you  is  this :  Let  us  show 
ourselves  Americans  by  showing  that  we  do  not  want  to 
go  off  in  separate  camps  or  groups  by  ourselves,  but  that 
we  want  to  cooperate  with  all  other  classes  and  all  other 
groups  in  a  common  enterprise  which  is  to  release  the 
spirits  of  the  world  from  bondage.  I  would  be  willing  to 
set  that  up  as  the  final  test  of  an  American.  That  is  the 
meaning  of  democracy. 

AMERICA'S  PURPOSE  IN  THE  WAR^ 
WooDROw  Wilson 

I  shall  not  go  back  to  debate  the  causes  of  the  war. 
The  intolerable  wrongs  done  and  planned  against  us  by 
the  sinister  masters  of  Germany  have  long  since  become 
too  grossly  obvious  and  odious  to  every  true  American  to 
need  to  be  rehearsed.  Rut  I  shall  ask  you  to  consider 
again  and  with  very  grave  scrutiny  our  objectives  and  the 
measures  by  which  we  mean  to  attain  them ;  for  the  pur- 
pose of  discussion  here  in  this  place  is  action  and  our  action 
must  move  straight  toward  definite  ends.  Our  object  ic, 
of  course,  to  win  the  war ;  and  we  shall  not  slacken  or  sufi'er 
ourselves  to  be  diverted  until  it  is  won.  Rut  it  is  v.^orth 
while  asking  and  answering  the  question,  When  shall  we 
consider  the  war  won  ? 

From  one  point  of  view  it  is  not  necessary  to  broach  this 
fundamenteJ  matter.     I  do  not  doubt  that  the  American 


1  From  the  President's  second  war  message,  delivered  before  Con- 
gress, December  4, 1917.  In  pamphlet,  "War,  Labor,  and  Peace," 
issued  by  Conmiittee  on  Public  Information,  Washington,  D.G. 


The  Present  Crisis  293 

people  know  what  the  war  is  about  and  what  sort  of  an 
outcome  they  will  regard  as  a  realization  of  their  purpose 
in  it.  As  a  Nation  we  are  united  in  spirit  and  intention. 
I  pay  little  heed  to  those  who  tell  me  otherwise.  I  hear 
the  voices  of  dissent  —  who  does  not  ?  I  hear  the  criti- 
cism and  the  clamor  of  the  noisily  thoughtless  and  trouble- 
some. I  also  see  men  here  and  there  fling  themselves  in 
impotent  disloyalty  against  the  calm,  indomitable  power 
of  the  Nation.  I  hear  men  debate  peace  who  understand 
neither  its  nature  nor  the  way  in  which  we  may  attain  it, 
with  uplifted  eyes  and  unbroken  spirits.  But  I  know  that 
none  of  these  speaks  for  the  Nation.  They  do  not  touch 
the  heart  of  anything.  They  may  safely  be  left  to  strut 
their  uneasy  hour  and  be  forgotten. 

But  from  another  point  of  view  I  believe  that  it  is 
necessary  to  say  plainly  what  we  here  at  the  seat  of  action 
consider  the  war  to  be  for  and  what  part  we  mean  to  play 
in  the  settlement  of  its  searching  issues.  We  are  the 
spokesmen  of  the  American  people  and  they  have  a  right 
to  know  whether  their  purpose  is  ours.  They  desire  peace 
by  the  overcoming  of  evil,  by  the  defeat  once  for  all 
of  the  sinister  forces  that  interrupt  peace  and  render  it 
impossible,  and  they  wish  to  know  how  closely  our  thought 
runs  with  theirs  and  what  action  we  propose.  They  are 
impatient  with  those  who  desire  peace  by  any  sort  of  com- 
promise —  deeply  and  indignantly  impatient  —  but  they 
will  be  equally  impatient  with  us  if  we  do  not  make  it 
plain  to  them  what  our  objectives  are  and  what  we  are 
planning  for  in  seeking  to  make  conquest  of  peace  by 
arms. 

I  believe  that  I  speak  for  them  when  I  say  two  things : 
First,  that  this  intolerable  thing  of  which  the  masters  of 
Germany  have  shown  us  the  ugly  face,  this  menace  of 


294  The  Arjierican  Spirit 

combined  intrigue  and  force,  which  we  now  see  so  clearly 
as  the  German  power,  a  thing  without  conscience  or  honor 
or  capacity  for  covenanted  peace,  must  be  crushed,  and 
if  it  be  not  utterly  brought  to  an  end,  at  least  shut  out 
from  the  friendly  intercourse  of  the  nations ;  and,  second, 
that  when  this  thing  and  its  power  are  indeed  defeated 
and  the  time  comes  that  we  can  discuss  peace  —  when  the 
German  people  have  spokesmen  whose  word  we  can  be- 
lieve, and  when  those  spokesmen  are  ready  in  the  name 
of  their  people  to  accept  the  common  judgment  of  the  na- 
tions as  to  what  shall  henceforth  be  the  bases  of  law  and 
of  covenant  for  the  Hfe  of  the  world  —  we  shall  be  willing 
and  glad  to  pay  the  full  price  for  peace  and  pay  it  un- 
grudgingly. We  know  what  that  price  will  be.  It  will 
be  full,  impartial  justice — justice  done  at  every  point 
and  to  every  nation  that  the  final  settlement  must  affect, 
our  enemies  as  well  as  our  friends. 

You  catch,  with  me,  the  voices  of  humanity  that  are  in 
the  air.  They  grow  daily  more  audible,  more  articulate, 
more  persuasive,  and  they  come  from  the  hearts  of  men 
everywhere.  They  insist  that  the  war  shall  not  end  in 
vindictive  action  of  any  kind ;  that  no  nation  or  people 
shall  be  robbed  or  punished  because  the  irresponsible 
rulers  of  a  single  country  have  themselves  done  deep  and 
abominable  wrong.  It  is  this  thought  that  has  been  ex- 
pressed in  the  formula,  "No  annexations,  no  contributions, 
no  punitive  indemnities. ' '  Just  because  this  crude  formula 
expresses  the  instinctive  judgment  as  to  the  right  of  plain 
men  everywhere  it  has  been  made  dihgent  use  of  by  the 
masters  of  German  intrigue  to  lead  the  people  of  Russia 
astray,  —  and  the  people  of  every  other  country  their 
agents  could  reach,  —  in  order  that  a  premature  peace 
might    be    brought    about    before    autocracy  has   been 


The  Present  Crisis  295 

taught  its  final  and  convincing  lesson  and  the  people  of 
the  world  put  in  control  of  their  own  destinies. 

But  the  fact  that  a  wrong  use  has  been  made  of  a  just 
idea  is  no  reason  why  a  right  use  should  not  be  made  of  it. 
It  ought  to  be  brought  under  the  patronage  of  its  real 
friends.  Let  it  be  said  again  that  autocracy  must  first 
be  shown  the  utter  futifity  of  its  claims  to  power  or  leader- 
ship in  the  modern  world.  It  is  impossible  to  apply  any 
standard  of  justice  so  long  as  such  forces  are  unchecked 
and  undefeated  as  the  present  masters  of  Germany  com- 
mand. Not  until  that  has  been  done  can  Right  be  set  up 
as  arbiter  and  peacemaker  among  the  nations.  But  when 
that  has  been  done  —  as,  God  willing,  it  assuredly  will  be 
—  we  shall  at  last  be  free  to  do  an  unprecedented  thing, 
and  this  is  the  time  to  avow  our  purpose  to  do  it.  We 
shall  be  free  to  base  peace  on  generosity  and  justice,  to  the 
exclusion  of  all  selfish  claims  to  advantage  even  on  the 
part  of  the  victors. 

Let  there  be  no  misunderstanding.  Our  present  £md 
immediate  task  is  to  win  the  war,  and  nothing  shall  turn 
us  aside  from  it  until  it  is  accompHshed.  Every  power 
and  resource  we  possess,  whether  of  men,  of  money,  or  ma- 
terials, is  being  devoted  and  will  continue  to  be  devoted, 
to  that  purpose  until  it  is  achieved.  Those  who  desire 
to  bring  peace  about  before  that  purpose  is  achieved,  I 
counsel  to  carry  their  advice  elsewhere.  We  wiU  not 
entertain  it.  We  shall  regard  the  war  as  won  only  when 
the  German  people  say  to  us,  through  properly  accredited 
representatives,  that  they  are  ready  to  agree  to  a  settle- 
ment based  upon  justice  and  the  reparation  of  the  wrongs 
their  rulers  have  done.  They  have  done  a  wrong  to  Bel- 
gium which  must  be  repaired.  They  have  established  a 
power  over  other  lands  and  peoples  than  their  own  — 


296  The  American  Spirit 

over  the  great  empire  of  Austria-Hungary,  over  hitherto 
free  Balkan  states,  over  Turkey,  and  within  Asia  —  which 
must  be  rehnquished. 

Germany's  success  by  skill,  by  industry,  by  knowledge, 
by  enterprise  we  did  not  grudge  or  oppose,  but  admired 
rather.  She  had  built  up  for  herself  a  real  empire  of  trade 
and  influence,  secured  by  the  peace  of  the  world.  We 
were  content  to  abide  the  rivalries  of  manufacture,  science, 
and  commerce  that  were  involved  for  us  in  her  success 
and  stand  or  fall  as  we  had  or  did  not  have  the  brains  and 
the  initiative  to  surpass  her.  But  at  the  moment  when 
she  had  conspicuously  won  her  triumphs  of  peace  she 
threw  them  away  to  estabUsh  in  their  stead  what  the 
world  will  no  longer  permit  to  be  established,  military 
and  political  domination  by  arms,  by  which  to  oust 
where  she  could  not  excel  the  rivals  she  most  feared  and 
hated.  The  peace  we  make  must  remedy  that  wrong.  It 
must  deliver  the  once  fair  lands  and  happy  peoples  of 
Belgium  and  northern  France  from  the  Prussian  conquest 
and  the  Prussian  menace,  but  it  must  also  deUver  the 
peoples  of  Austria-Hungary,  the  peoples  of  the  Balkans, 
and  the  peoples  of  Turkey,  aUke  in  Europe  and  in  Asia, 
from  the  impudent  and  ahen  domination  of  the  Prussian 
mihteiry  and  commercial  autocracy. 

We  owe  it,  however,  to  ourselves  to  say  that  we  do  not 
wish  in  any  way  to  impair  or  to  rearrange  the  Austro- 
Hungarian  Empire.  It  is  no  afi'air  of  ours  what  they  do 
with  their  own  life,  either  industrially  or  politically.  We 
do  not  purpose  nor  desire  to  dictate  to  them  in  any  way. 
We  only  desire  to  see  that  their  affairs  are  left  in  their 
own  hands,  in  all  matters,  great  or  small.  We  shall  hope 
to  secure  for  the  peoples  of  the  Balkan  peninsula  and  for 
the  peoples  of  the  Turkish  Empire  the  right  and  oppor- 


The  Present  Crisis  297 

tunity  to  make  their  own  lives  safe,  their  own  fortunes 
secure  against  oppression  or  injustice  and  from  the  dicta- 
tion of  foreign  courts  or  parties. 

And  our  attitude  and  purpose  with  regard  to  Germany 
herself  are  of  a  like  kind.  We  intend  no  wrong  against 
the  German  Empire,  no  interference  with  her  internal 
affairs.  We  should  deem  either  the  one  or  the  other 
absolutely  unjustifiable,  absolutely  contrary  to  the  prin- 
ciples we  have  professed  to  live  by  and  to  hold  most 
sacred  throughout  our  life  as  a  nation. 

The  people  of  Germany  are  being  told  by  the  men  whom 
they  now  permit  to  deceive  them  axid  to  act  as  their  mas- 
ters that  they  are  fighting  for  the  very  fife  and  existence 
of  their  Empire,  a  war  of  desperate  self-defense  against 
deliberate  aggression.  Nothing  could  be  more  grossly 
or  wantonly  false,  and  we  must  seek  by  the  utmost  open- 
ness and  candor  as  to  our  real  aims  to  convince  them  of  its 
falseness.  We  are,  in  fact,  fighting  for  their  emancipation 
from  fear,  along  with  our  own,  —  from  the  fear  as  well  as 
from  the  fact  of  unjust  attack  by  neighbors  or  rivals  or 
schemers  after  world  empire.  No  one  is  threatening  the 
existence  or  the  independence  or  the  peaceful  enterprise 
of  the  German  Empire. 

The  worst  that  can  happen  to  the  detriment  of  the 
German  people  is  this,  that  if  they  should  still,  after  the 
war  is  over,  continue  to  be  obliged  to  five  under  ambitious 
and  intriguing  masters  interested  to  disturb  the  peace  of 
the  world,  —  men  or  classes  of  men  whom  the  other 
peoples  of  the  world  could  not  trust,  —  it  might  be  im- 
possible to  admit  them  to  the  partnership  of  nations 
which  must  henceforth  guEu-antee  the  world's  peace. 
That  partnership  must  be  a  partnership  of  peoples,  not  a 
mere  partnership  of  governments.    It  might  be  impossi- 


298  The  American  Spirit 

ble,  also,  in  such  untowEird  circumstances,  to  admit 
Germany  to  the  free  economic  intercourse  which  must 
inevitably  spring  out  of  the  other  paa-tnerships  of  a  real 
peace.  But  there  would  be  no  aggression  in  that ;  and 
such  a  situation,  inevitable  because  of  distrust,  would  in 
the  very  nature  of  things  sooner  or  later  cure  itself,  by 
processes  which  would  assuredly  set  in. 

The  wrongs,  the  very  deep  wrongs,  committed  in  this 
war  will  have  to  be  righted.  That  of  course.  But  they 
cannot  and  must  not  be  righted  by  the  commission  of 
similar  wrongs  against  Germany  and  her  allies.  The 
world  will  not  permit  the  commission  of  similar  wrongs  as 
a  means  of  reparation  and  settlement.  Statesmen  must 
by  this  time  have  learned  that  the  opinion  of  the  world 
is  everywhere  wide-awake  and  fully  comprehends  the 
issues  involved.  No  representative  of  any  self-governed 
nation  will  dare  disregard  it  by  attempting  any  such 
covenants  of  selfishness  and  compromise  as  were  entered 
into  at  the  Congress  of  Vienna.^  The  thought  of  the 
plain  people  here  and  everywhere  throughout  the  world, 
the  people  who  enjoy  no  privilege  and  have  very  simple 
and  unsophisticated  standards  of  right  and  wrong,  is  the 
air  all  governments  must  henceforth  breathe  if  they  would 
live.  It  is  in  the  full  disclosing  hght  of  that  thought  that 
all  policies  must  be  conceived  and  executed  in  this  mid- 
day hour  of  the  world's  life. 

German  rulers  have  been  able  to  upset  the  peace  of  the 
world  only  because  the  German  people  were  not  suffered, 

^  The  Peace  Conference  held  in  1815  and  1816  to  determine  the 
terms  of  peace  after  the  downfall  of  Napoleon.  It  was  controlled 
by  reactionary  political  powers  which  deprived  most  European 
peoples  of  such  freedom  as  they  had  won  in  the  early  Revolutionary 
period,  and  was  particularly  harsh  and  cynical  in  its  treatment  of 
small  nations. 


The  Present  Crisis  299 

under  their  tutelage,  to  share  the  comradeship  of  the  other 
peoples  of  the  world  either  in  thought  or  in  purpose. 
They  were  allowed  to  have  no  opinion  of  their  own  which 
might  be  set  up  as  a  rule  of  conduct  for  those  who  exer- 
cised authority  over  them.  But  the  congress  that  con- 
cludes this  war  will  feel  the  full  strength  of  the  tides  that 
run  now  in  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  free  men  every- 
where.    Its  conclusions  will  run  with  those  tides. 

All  these  things  have  been  true  from  the  very  beginning 
of  this  stupendous  war ;  and  I  cannot  help  thinking  that 
if  they  had  been  made  plain  at  the  very  outset  the  sym- 
pathy and  enthusiasm  of  the  Russian  people  might  have 
been  once  for  all  enlisted  on  the  side  of  the  Allies,  suspicion 
and  distrust  swept  away,  and  a  real  and  lasting  union  of 
purpose  effected.  Had  they  beUeved  these  things  at  the 
very  moment  of  their  revolution  and  had  they  been  con- 
firmed in  that  belief  since,  the  sad  reverses  which  have 
recently  marked  the  progress  of  their  affairs  toward  an 
ordered  and  stable  government  of  free  men  might  have 
been  avoided.  The  Russian  people  have  been  poisoned 
by  the  very  same  falsehoods  that  have  kept  the  German 
people  in  the  dark,  and  the  poison  has  been  administered 
by  the  very  same  hands.  The  only  possible  antidote  is 
the  truth.     It  cannot  be  uttered  too  plainly  or  too  often. 

From  every  point  of  view,  therefore,  it  has  seemed  to  be 
my  duty  to  speak  these  declarations  of  purpose,  to  add 
these  specific  interpretations  to  what  I  took  the  liberty 
of  saying  to  the  Senate  in  January.  Our  entrance  into 
the  war  has  not  altered  our  attitude  toward  the  settlement 
that  must  come  when  it  is  over.  When  I  said  in  Jguiuary 
that  the  nations  of  the  world  were  entitled  not  only  to  free 
pathways  upon  the  sea,  but  also  to  assured  and  unmolested 
access  to  those  pathways,  I  was  thinking,  and  I  am  think- 


300  The  American  Spirit 

ing  now,  not  of  the  smaller  and  weaker  nations  alone, 
which  need  our  countenance  and  support,  but  also  of  the 
great  and  powerful  nations,  and  of  our  present  enemies  as 
well  as  our  present  associates  in  the  war.  I  was  thinking, 
and  am  thinking  now,  of  Austria  herself,  among  the  rest, 
as  well  as  of  Serbia  and  of  Poland.  Justice  and  equality  of 
rights  can  be  had  only  at  a  great  price.  We  are  seeking 
permanent,  not  temporary,  foundations  for  the  peace  of 
the  world,  and  must  seek  them  candidly  and  fearlessly. 
As  always,  the  right  will  prove  to  be  the  expedient. 

What  shall  we  do,  then,  to  push  this  great  war  of  freedom 
and  justice  to  its  righteous  conclusion?  We  must  clear 
away  with  a  thorough  hand  all  impediments  to  success, 
and  we  must  make  every  adjustment  of  law  that  will 
faciUtate  the  full  and  free  use  of  our  whole  capacity  and 
force  as  a  fighting  unit. 

One  very  embarrassing  obstacle  that  stands  in  our  way 
is  that  we  are  at  war  with  Germany,  but  not  with  her  allies. 
I  therefore  very  earnestly  recommend  that  the  Congress 
immediately  declare  the  United  States  in  a  state  of  war 
with  Austria-Hungary.  Does  it  seem  strange  to  you  that 
this  should  be  the  conclusion  of  the  argument  I  have  just 
addressed  to  you  ?  It  is  not.  It  is  in  fact  the  inevitable 
logic  of  what  I  have  said.  Austria-Hungary  is  for  the 
time  being  not  her  own  mistress,  but  simply  the  vassal  of 
the  German  Government.  We  must  face  the  facts  as  they 
are  and  act  upon  them  without  sentiment  in  this  stern 
business.  The  Government  of  Austria-Hungary  is  not 
acting  upon  its  own  initiative  or  in  response  to  the  wishes 
and  feelings  of  its  own  peoples,  but  as  the  instrument  of 
another  nation.  We  must  meet  its  force  with  our  own 
and  regard  the  Central  Powers  as  but  one.  The  war  can 
be   successfully  conducted  in  no  other  way.     The  same 


The  Present  Crisis  301 

logic  would  lead  also  to  a  declaration  of  war  against  Tur- 
key and  Bulgaria.  They  also  are  the  tools  of  Germany. 
But  they  are  mere  tools  and  do  not  yet  stand  in  the  direct 
path  of  our  necessary  action.  We  shall  go  wherever  the 
necessities  of  this  war  carry  us,  but  it  seems  to  me  that 
we  should  go  only  where  immediate  and  practical- con- 
siderations lead  us  and  not  heed  any  others. 

The  financial  and  mihtary  measures  which  must  be 
adopted  will  suggest  themselves  as  the  war  and  its  under- 
takings develop,  but  I  will  take  the  liberty  of  proposing 
to  you  certain  other  acts  of  legislation  which  seem  to  me 
to  be  needed  for  the  support  of  the  war  and  for  the  release 
of  our  whole  force  and  energy.  .  .  . 

We  can  do  this  with  all  the  greater  zeal  and  enthusiasm 
because  we  know  that  for  us  this  is  a  war  of  high  principle, 
debased  by  no  selfish  ambition  of  conquest  or  spohation ; 
because  we  know,  and  all  the  world  knows,  that  we  have 
been  forced  into  it  to  save  the  very  institutions  we  five 
under  from  corruption  and  destruction.  The  purposes 
of  the  Central  Powers  strike  straight  at  the  very  heart  of 
everything  we  believe  in ;  their  methods  of  warfare  out- 
rage every  principle  of  humanity  and  of  knightly  honor ; 
their  intrigue  has  corrupted  the  very  thought  and  spirit 
of  many  of  our  people  ;  their  sinister  and  secret  diplomacy 
has  sought  to  take  our  very  territory  away  from  us  and 
disrupt  the  union  of  the  States.  Our  safety  would  be  at 
an  end,  our  honor  forever  sullied  and  brought  into  con- 
tempt, were  we  to  permit  their  triumph.  They  are  striking 
at  the  very  existence  of  democracy  and  liberty. 

It  is  because  it  is  for  us  a  war  of  high,  disinterested  pur- 
pose, in  which  all  the  free  peoples  of  the  world  are  banded 
together  for  the  vindication  of  right,  a  war  for  the  preser- 
vation of  our  Nation  and  of  all  that  it  has  held  dear  of 


302  The  American  Spirit 

principle  and  of  purpose,  that  we  feel  ourselves  doubly 
constrained  to  propose  for  its  outcome  only  that  which  is 
righteous  and  of  irreproachable  intention,  for  our  foes  as 
well  as  for  our  friends. 

The  cause  being  just  and  holy,  the  settlement  must  be 
of  like  motive  and  quality.  For  this  we  can  fight,  but  for 
nothing  less  noble  or  less  worthy  of  our  traditions.  For 
this  cause  we  entered  the  war,  and  for  this  cause  we  will 
battle  until  the  last  gun  is  fired. 

I  have  spoken  plainly  because  this  seems  to  me  the  time 
when  it  is  most  necessary  to  speak  plainly,  in  order  that 
all  the  world  may  know  that  even  in  the  heat  and  ardor 
of  the  struggle  and  when  our  whole  thought  is  of  carrying 
the  war  through  to  its  end  we  have  not  forgotten  any  ideal 
or  principle  for  which  the  name  of  America  has  been  held 
in  honor  among  the  nations  and  for  which  it  has  been  our 
glory  to  contend  in  the  great  generations  that  went  before 
us.  A  supreme  moment  of  history  has  come.  The  eyes 
of  the  people  have  been  opened  and  they  see.  The  hand 
of  God  is  laid  upon  the  nations.  He  will  show  them 
favor,  I  devoutly  believe,  only  if  they  rise  to  the  clear 
heights  of  His  own  justice  and  mercy. 

WHEN    THE    GREAT  GRAY  SHIPS  COME    IN  ^ 
Guy  Wetmore  Carryl  (1873-1904) 

To  eastward  ringing,  to  westward  winging,  o'er  mapless 

miles  of  sea. 
On  winds  and  tides  the  gospel  rides  that  the  furthermost 

isles  are  free ; 

1  This  poem  refers  to  the  entrance  of  the  warships  into  New  York 
harbor  August  20,  1898,  when  peace  with  Spain  was  declared. 


The  Present  Crisis  303 

And  the  furthermost  isles  make  answer,  harbor  and  height 

and  hill, 
Breaker  and  beach  cry  each  to  each,  '"Tis  the  Mother 

who  calls!    BestiUI" 
Mother !  new-found  beloved,  and  strong  to  hold  from  harm, 
Stretching  to  these  across  the  seas  the  shield  of  her 

sovereign  arm. 
Who  summoned  the  guns  of  her  sailor  sons,  who  bade 

her  navies  roam. 
Who  calls  again  to  the  leagues  of  main,  and  who  calls 

them  this  time  home  I 

And  the   great  gray   ships   are  silent,  and  the  weary 

watchers  rest ; 
The  black  cloud  dies  in  the  August  skies,  and  deep  in  the 

golden  west 
Invisible  hands  are  limning  a  glory  of  crimson  bars, 
And  far  above  is  the  wonder  of  a  myriad  wakened  stars  I 
Peace!    As  the  tidings  silence  the  strenuous  cannonade. 
Peace  at  last!   is  the  bugle  blast  the  length  of  the  long 

blockade ; 
And  eyes  of  vigil  weary  are  lit  with  the  glad  release. 
From  ship  to  ship  and  from  lip  to  lip,  it  is  "Peace! 

Thank  God  for  peace !" 

Ah,  in  the  sweet  hereafter  Columbia  still  shall  show 
The  sons  of  these  who  swept  the  seas  how  she  bade  them 
rise  and  go ; 

At  the  outbreak  of  this  war  the  white  warships  were  painted  gray 
for  the  first  time  in  their  existence,  all  of  them  having  been  built 
during  the  years  of  peace. 

From  "The  Garden  of  Years."  Copyright,  1914,  by  G.  P. 
Putnam's  Sons,  New  York.  Used  by  permission  of  the  publishers 
and  of  the  editor,  Henry  D.  Sleeper. 


304  The  American  Spirit 

How,  when  the  stirring  summons  smote  on  her  children's 

ear, 
South  and  North  at  the  call  stood  forth,  and  the  whole 

land  answered,  "  Here !  " 
For  the  soul  of  the  soldier's  story  and  the  heart  of  the 

sailor's  song 
Are  all  of  those  who  meet  their  foes  as  right  should  meet 

with  wrong. 
Who  fight  their  guns  till  the  foeman  runs,  and  then,  on 

the  decks  they  trod. 
Brave  faces  raise,  and  give  the  praise  to  the  grace  of  their 

country's  God ! 

Yes,  it  is  good  to  battle,  and  good  to  be  strong  and 

free, 
To  carry  the  hearts  of  a  people  to  the  uttermost  ends  of 

sea, 
To  see  the  day  steal  up  the  bay  where  the  enemy  lies  in 

wait. 
To  run  your  ship  to  the  harbor's  lip  and  sink  her  across 

the  strait :  — 
But  better  the  golden  evening,  when  the  ships  round 

heads  for  home. 
And  the  long  gray  miles  slip  swiftly  past  in  a  swirl  of 

seething  foam,  — 
And  the  people  wait  at  the  haven's  gate  to  greet  the  men 

who  win ! 
Thank  God  for  peace  I    Thank  God  for  peace !  when  the 

great  gray  ships  come  in  I 


X.    ONWARD 


A  WORLD  PEACE  1 
WooDROw  Wilson 

It  will  be  our  wish  and  purpose  that  the  processes  of 
peace,  when  they  are  begun,  shall  be  absolutely  open,  and 
that  they  shall  involve  and  permit  henceforth  no  secret 
understandings  of  any  kind.  The  day  of  conquest  and 
aggrandizement  is  gone  by ;  so  is  also  the  day  of  secret 
covenants  entered  into  in  the  interest  of  particular  gov- 
ernments, and  Ukely  at  some  unlooked-for  moment  to 
upset  the  peace  of  the  world.  It  is  this  happy  fact,  now 
clear  to  the  view  of  every  pubhc  man  whose  thoughts  do 
not  still  linger  in  an  age  that  is  dead  and  gone,  which 
makes  it  possible  for  every  nation  whose  purposes  are 
consistent  with  justice  and  the  peace  of  the  world  to 
avow  now  or  at  any  other  time  the  objects  it  has  in  view. 

We  entered  this  war  because  violations  of  right  had 
occurred  which  touched  us  to  the  quick  and  made  the  life 
of  our  own  people  impossible  unless  they  were  corrected 
and  the  world  secured  once  for  all  against  their  recurrence. 
What  we  demand  in  this  war,  therefore,  is  nothing  pecuUar 
to  ourselves.  It  is  that  the  world  be  made  fit  and  safe  to 
live  in ;  and  particularly  that  it  be  made  safe  for  every 
peace-loving  nation  which,  like  our  own,  wishes  to  Uve 
its  own  Ufe,  determine  its  own  institutions,  be  assured 
of  justice  and  fair  deahng  by  the  other  peoples  of  the 
world  as  against  force  and  selfish  aggression.  All  the 
peoples  of  the  world  are  in  effect  partners  in  this  interest, 

^  From  address  delivered  before  Congress,  January  8,  1918.  In 
pamphlet,  "War,  Labor,  and  Peace,"  issued  by  Committee  on 
PubUc  Information,  Washington,  D.C. 

305 


306  The  American  Spirit 

and  for  our  own  part  we  see  very  clearly  that  unless  justice 
be  done  to  others  it  will  not  be  done  to  us.  The  program 
of  the  world's  peace,  therefore,  is  our  program,  and  that 
program,  the  only  possible  program,  as  we  see  it,  is  this  : 

I.  Open  covenants  of  peace,  openly  arrived  at,  after 
which  there  shall  be  no  private  international  understand- 
ings of  any  kind,  but  diplomacy  shall  proceed  always 
frankly  and  in  the  public  view. 

II.  Absolute  freedom  of  navigation  upon  the  seas, 
outside  territorial  waters,  ahke  in  peace  and  in  war,  except 
as  the  seas  may  be  closed  in  whole  or  in  part  by  inter- 
national action  for  the  enforcement  of  international 
covenants. 

III.  The  removal,  so  far  as  possible,  of  all  economic 
barriers  and  the  estabhshment  of  an  equahty  of  trade 
conditions  among  all  the  nations  consenting  to  the  peace 
and  associating  themselves  for  its  maintenance. 

IV.  Adequate  guaranties  given  and  taken  that  national 
armaments  wiU  be  reduced  to  the  lowest  point  consistent 
with  domestic  safety. 

V.  A  free,  open-minded,  and  absolutely  impartial 
adjustment  of  all  colonial  claims,  based  upon  a  strict  ob- 
servance of  the  principle  that  in  determining  all  such  ques- 
tions of  sovereignty  the  interest  of  the  populations  con- 
cerned must  have  equal  weight  with  the  equitable  claims 
of  the  government  whose  title  is  to  be  determined. 

VI.  The  evacuation  of  all  Russian  territory  and  such 
a  settlement  of  all  questions  affecting  Russia  as  will  secure 
the  best  and  freest  cooperation  of  the  other  nations  of  the 
world  in  obtaining  for  her  an  unhampered  and  unembar- 
rassed opportunity  for  the  independent  determination  of 
her  own  political  development  and  national  policy  and 
assure  her  of  a  sincere  welcome  into  the  society  of  free 


Onward  307 

nations  under  institutions  of  her  own  choosing;  and, 
more  than  a  welcome,  assistance  also  of  every  kind  that 
she  may  need  and  may  herself  desire.  The  treatment 
accorded  Russia  by  her  sister  nations  in  the  months  to 
come  will  be  the  acid  test  of  their  good  will,  of  their  com- 
prehension of  her  needs  as  distinguished  from  their  own 
interests,  and  of  their  intelligent  and  unselfish  sympathy. 

VII.  Belgium,  the  whole  world  will  agree,  must  be 
evacuated  and  restored  without  any  attempt  to  limit  the 
sovereignty  which  she  enjoys  in  common  with  all  other 
free  nations.  No  other  single  act  will  serve  as  this  will 
serve  to  restore  confidence  among  the  nations  in  the  laws 
which  they  have  themselves  set  and  determined  for  the 
government  of  their  relations  with  one  another.  Without 
this  heafing  act  the  whole  structure  and  validity  of  inter- 
national law  is  forever  impaired. 

VIII.  All  French  territory  should  be  freed  and  the  in- 
vaded portions  restored ;  and  the  wrong  done  to  France 
by  Prussia  in  1871  in  the  matter  of  Alsace-Lorraine, 
which  has  unsettled  the  peace  of  the  world  for  nearly  fifty 
years,  should  be  righted,  in  order  that  peace  may  once 
more  be  made  secure  in  the  interest  of  all. 

IX.  A  readjustment  of  the  frontiers  of  Italy  should 
be  effected  along  clearly  recognizable  lines  of  nationality. 

X.  The  peoples  of  Austria-Hungary,  whose  place 
among  the  nations  we  wish  to  see  safeguarded  and  assured, 
should  be  accorded  the  freest  opportunity  of  autonomous 
development. 

XL  Roumania,  Serbia,  and  Montenegro  should  be 
evacuated  ;  occupied  territories  restored  ;  Serbia  accorded 
free  and  secure  access  to  the  sea ;  and  the  relations  of  the 
several  Balkan  states  to  one  another  determined  by 
friendly  counsel  along  historically  established  lines  of 


308  The  American  Spirit 

allegiance  and  nationality;  and  international  guaranties 
of  the  political  and  economic  independence  and  territorial 
integrity  of  the  several  Balkan  states  should  be  entered 
into. 

XII.  The  Turkish  portions  of  the  present  Ottoman 
Empire  should  be  assured  a  secure  sovereignty,  but  the 
other  nationalities  which  are  now  under  Turkish  rule 
should  be  assured  an  undoubted  security  of  life  and  an 
absolutely  unmolested  opportunity  of  autonomous  de- 
velopment, and  the  Dardanelles  should  be  permanently 
opened  as  a  free  passage  to  the  ships  and  commerce  of  all 
nations  under  international  "guaranties. 

XIII.  An  independent  Polish  state  should  be  erected 
which  should  include  the  territories  inhabited  by  indis- 
putably Polish  populations,  which  should  be  assured  a 
free  and  secure  access  to  the  sea,  and  whose  political  and 
economic  independence  and  territorial  integrity  should  be 
guaranteed  by  international  covenant. 

XIV.  A  general  association  of  nations  must  be  formed 
under  specific  covenants  for  the  purpose  of  affording 
mutual  guaranties  of  political  independence  and  terri- 
torial integrity  to  great  and  small  States  aUke. 

In  regard  to  these  essential  rectifications  of  wrong  and 
assertions  of  right  we  feel  ourselves  to  be  intimate  partners 
of  all  the  Governments  and  peoples  associated  together 
against  the  imperialists.  We  cannot  be  separated  in  in- 
terest or  divided  in  purpose.  .We  stand  together  until 
the  end. 

For  such  arrangements  and  covenants  we  are  willing 
to  fight  and  to  continue  to  fight  until  they  are  achieved ; 
but  only  because  we  wish  the  right  to  prevail  and  desire 
a  just  and  stable  peace  such  as  can  be  secured  only  by 
removing  the  chief  provocations  to  war,  which  this  pro- 


Onward  309 

gram  does  remove.  We  have  no  jealousy  of  German 
greatness  and  there  is  nothing  in  this  program  that  im- 
pairs it.  We  grudge  her  no  achievement  or  distinction 
of  learning  or  of  pacific  enterprise  such  as  have  made  her 
record  very  bright  and  very  enviable.  We  do  not  wish 
to  injure  her  or  to  block  in  any  way  her  legitimate  influ- 
ence or  power.  We  do  not  wish  to  fight  her  either  with 
arms  or  with  hostile  arrangements  of  trade,  if  she  is  will- 
ing to  associate  herself  with  us  and  the  other  peace-loving 
nations  of  the  world  in  covenants  of  justice  and  law  and 
fair  dealing.  We  wish  her  only  to  accept  a  place  of 
equality  among  the  peoples  of  the  world  —  the  new  world 
in  which  we  now  five  —  instead  of  a  place  of  mastery. 

Neither  do  we  presume  to  suggest  to  her  any  alteration 
or  modification  of  her  institutions.  But  it  is  necessary, 
we  must  frankly  say,  and  necessary  as  a  preliminary  to 
any  intelfigent  deafings  with  her  on  our  part,  that  we 
should  know  whom  her  spokesmen  speak  for  when  they 
speak  to  us,  whether  for  the  Reichstag  majority  or  for 
the  mifitary  party  and  the  men  whose  creed  is  imperial 
domination. 

We  have  spoken  now,  surely,  in  terms  too  concrete  to 
admit  of  any  further  doubt  or  question.  An  evident 
principle  runs  through  the  whole  program  I  have  out- 
lined. It  is  the  principle  of  justice  to  all  peoples  and 
nationalities,  and  their  right  to  live  on  equal  terms  of 
liberty  and  safety  with  one  another,  whether  they  be 
strong  or  weak.  Unless  this  principle  be  made  its  foun- 
dation, no  part  of  the  structure  of  international  justice 
can  stand.  The  people  of  the  United  States  could  act 
upon  no  other  principle ;  and  to  the  vindication  of  this 
principle  they  are  ready  to  devote  their  lives,  their  honor, 
and  everything  that  they  possess.     The  moral  cfimax  of 


310  The  American  Spirit 

this,  the  culminating  and  final  war  for  human  Uberty, 
has  come,  and  they  are  ready  to  put  their  own  strength, 
their  own  highest  purpose,  their  own  integrity,  and  de- 
votion to  the  test. 


FREEDOM  AGAINST  THE  WILL  TO  POWER  i 
William  E.  Borah  (1865-        ) 

And  when  we  reflect  further  on  some  of  the  issues  which 
are  involved  in  the  war,  we  are  again  led  to  understand 
how  conclusively  this  is  a  contest  between  the  two  sys- 
tems of  government,  two  civilizations.  We  ought  to  get 
away,  if  we  can,  from  the  idea  that  it  is  a  conflict  over 
national  lines  in  Europe ;  that  it  is  a  question  of  the  redis- 
tribution of  territory  in  Europe ;  that  it  is  a  question  of 
securing  compensation  for  injuries  which  have  been  done 
us;  and  understand  that,  whatever  the  cause  was  in 
the  beginning,  we  have  now  arrived  at  a  point  where  it 
is  distinctly  a  conflict  between  two  systems  of  govern- 
ment, between  peoples  and  nations,  and  that  one  or  the 
other  will  have  to  go  down. 

In  other  words,  Mr.  President,  whatever  may  have 
been  our  opinion  in  the  beginning  of  the  war,  both  sides 
realize  now  that  this  is  not  only  a  war  between  great  na- 
tions, involving  the  interests  of  aU  their  citizens,  but  that 
it  is  distinctly  a  war  between  systems  of  government, 
and  it  is  so  recognized. 

Mr.  President,  the  German  historian.  Professor  Meyer, 
in  a  book  written  since  the  beginning  of  the  war,  in  which 

^  From  a  speech  made  in  the  United  States  Senate,  March  18,  1918, 
by  Mr.  Borah  as  Senator  from  Idaho. 


Onward  311 

he  sums  up  the  issues  involved,  or  rather  the  issue,  be- 
cause it  all  resolves  itself  into  one,  uses  this  language  : 

"The  truth  of  the  whole  matter  undoubtedly  is  that 
the  time  has  arrived  when  two  distinct  forms  of  State 
organization  must  face  each  other  in  a  life-and-death 
struggle." 

That  is  undoubtedly  the  understanding  and  behef  of 
those  who  are  responsible  for  this  war.  It  is  coming  to 
be  the  understanding  and  beUef  of  those  who  have  had 
the  war  forced  upon  them.  We  have  finally  put  aside 
the  tragedy  at  the  Bosnian  capital  and  the  wrongs  inflicted 
upon  Belgium  as  the  moving  causes  of  the  war.  They 
•were  but  the  prologue  to  the  imperial  theme.  We  now 
see  and  understand  clearly  and  unmistakably  the  cause 
at  all  times  lying  back  of  these  things.  Upon  the  one 
hand  is  Magna  Charta,^  the  Bill  of  Rights,^  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  principles  of  human  Uberty  which  they 
embody  and  preserve.  Upon  the  other  hand  is  that 
pecuhar  form  of  State  organization  which,  in  the  language 
of  the  Emperor,  rests  alone  upon  the  strength  of  the 
army  and  whose  highest  creed  finds  expression  in  the 
words  of  one  of  its  greatest  advocates,  that  war  is  a  part 
of  the  eternal  order  instituted  by  God.  We  go  back  to 
Runnymede,  where  fearless  men  wrenched  from  the 
hands  of  power  habeas  corpus  and  the  trial  by  jury. 


1  The  great  charter  won  by  the  Barons  of  England  from  King 
John  at  Runnymede,  June  15,  1215.  It  is  the  legal  basis  of  Eng- 
lish liberty  and  thus  of  American  also,  securing  a  legal  procedure 
for  all  acts  of  government  against  its  citizens. 

2  An  Act  of  Parliament  in  1689,  confirming  and  re-defining  the 
rights  guaranteed  in  the  Magna  Charta.  The  first  six  amendments 
to  the  American  Constitution  are  often  called  "The  American  Bill 
of  Rights." 


S12  The  American  Spirit 

They  point  us  to  Breslau  ^  and  Mollwitz,^  where  Frederick 
the  Great,  in  violation  of  his  plighted  word,  inaugurated 
the  rule  of  fraud  and  force  and  laid  the  foundation  for 
that  mighty  structure  whose  central  and  dominating  prin- 
ciple is  that  of  power. 

It  is  that  power  with  which  we  are  at  war  today.  Shall 
men,  shall  the  people,  be  governed  by  some  remorseless 
and  soulless  entity  softly  called  the  "State,"  or  shall 
the  instrumentalities  of  government  yield  alone  and  at 
all  times  to  the  wants  and  necessities,  the  hopes  and  as- 
pirations, of  the  masses  ?  That  is  now  the  issue.  Noth- 
ing should  longer  conceal  it.  It  is  but  another  and  more 
stupendous  phase  of  the  old  struggle,  a  struggle  as  ancient, 
and  as  inevitable  as  the  thirst  for  power  and  the  love  of 
liberty,  a  struggle  in  which  men  have  fought  and  sacri- 
ficed all  the  way  from  Marathon  to  Verdun. 

It  seems  strange  now,  and  it  will  seem  more  extraor- 
dinary to  those  who  come  after  us,  that  we  did  not  recog- 
nize from  the  beginning  that  this  was  the  issue.  But, 
obscured  by  the  debris  of  European  life,  confused  with 
the  dynastic  quarrels  and  racigJ  bitterness  of  the  Old 
World,  it  was  difficult  to  discern,  and  still  more  difficult 
to  reahze,  that  the  very  life  of  our  institutions  was  at 
stake,  that  the  scheme  of  the  enemy,  amazing  and  astound- 
ing, was  not  alone  to  control  territory  and  dominate 
commerce,  but  to  change  the  drift  of  human  progress  and 
to  readjust  the  standards  of  the  world's  civilization. 
Perhaps,  too,  our  love  of  peace,  our  traditional  friendship 
for  all  nations,  lulled  suspicion  and  discouraged  inquiry. 
Be  that  as  it  may,  there  can  be  no  doubt  now. 

1  A  treaty  between  Maria  Theresa,  queen  of  Hungary,  and  Fred- 
erick the  Great,  king  of  Prussia,  signed  in  1742. 

*  The  battle  preceding  the  treaty  of  peace. 


Onward  313 

Whatever  the  cause,  however  perverse  the  fates  which 
bring  us  to  this  crisis,  we  are  called  upon  not  to  settle 
questions  of  territory  or  establish  new  spheres  of  national 
activity,  but  to  defend  the  institutions  under  which  we 
live.  Who  doubts  should  we  fail  that  the  whole  theory 
and  system  of  government  for  which  we  have  labored  and 
struggled,  our  whole  conception  of  civilization,  would  be 
discredited  utterly?  Who  but  believes  that,  should  we 
lose,  militarism  would  be  the  searching  test  of  all  Govern- 
ments and  that  the  world  would  be  an  armed  camp  harried 
^^nd  tortured  and  decimated  by  endless  wars  ? 

But  what  we  have  determined  in  this  crisis,  as  I  under- 
stand it,  is  that  we  will  keep  the  road  of  democracy  open. 
No  one  shall  close  it.  If  any  nation  shall  hereafter  rise 
to  the  sublime  requirement  of  self-government  and  choose 
to  go  that  way,  it  shall  have  the  right  to  do  so.  Above 
all  things  we  havejdetermined,  cost  what  it  may  in  treasure 
and  blood,  tbatjlhis  experiment  here  upon  this  Western 
Continent  shall  justify  the  faith  of  its  builders,  thatthere 
shall  remain  here  in  all  the  integrity  of  its  powers,  neither 
wrenched  nor  marred  by  the  passions  of  war  from  within 
nor  humbled  nor  dishonored  by  military  power  from 
without,  the  Republic,  of  the  fathers;  that  since  the 
challenge  has  been  thrown  down  that  this  is  a  war  unto 
death  between  two  opposing  theories  of  government,  we 
aiQ  determined  that  whatever  else  happens  as  a  result 
of  this  war  this  form  of  organization,  this  theory  of  State, 
this  last  great  hope,  this  fruition  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty  years  of  struggle  and  toil,  "shall  not  perish  from  the 
earth." 


314  The  American  Spirit 

OUR  RESPONSIBILITIES! 
Theodore  Roosevelt  (1858-        ) 

Much  has  been  given  to  us,  and  much  will  rightfully  be 
expected  from  us.  We  have  duties  to  others  and  duties 
to  ourselves ;  and  we  can  shirk  neither.  We  have  become 
a  great  Nation,  forced  by  the  fact  of  its  greatness  into  re- 
lations with  the  other  nations  of  the  earth ;  and  we  must 
behave  as  beseems  a  people  with  such  responsibihties. 
Toward  all  other  nations,  large  and  small,  our  attitude 
must  be  one  of  cordial  and  sincere  friendship.  We  must 
show  not  only  in  our  words  but  in  our  deeds  that  we  are 
earnestly  desirous  of  securing  their  good  will  by  acting 
toward  them  in  a  spirit  of  just  and  generous  recognition 
of  all  their  rights.  But  justice  and  generosity  in  a  nation, 
as  in  an  individual,  count  most  when  shown  not  by  the 
weak  but  by  the  strong.  While  ever  careful  to  refrain 
from  wronging  others,  we  must  be  no  less  insistent  that 
we  are  not  wronged  ourselves.  We  wish  peace ;  but  we 
wish  the  peace  of  justice,  the  peace  of  righteousness.  We 
wish  it  because  we  think  it  is  right  and  not  because  we  are 
afraid.  No  weak  nation  that  acts  manfully  and  justly 
should  ever  have  cause  to  fear  us,  and  no  strong  power 
should  ever  be  able  to  single  us  out  as  a  subject  for  insolent 
aggression. 

Our  relations  with  the  other  Powers  of  the  world  are 
important;  but  still  more  important  are  our  relations 
among  ourselves.     Such  growth  in  wealth,  in  population, 

*  No  statesman  has  furnished  a  more  virile  example  of  the  American 
spirit  to  our  own  generation  than  ex-President  Roosevelt. 
From    inaugural    address,    March    4,    1905,    in    The    Works    of 
Theodore    Roosevelt.      Executive    Edition    of    His    Presidential 
Addresses  and  State  Papers,  Vol.  III.     Published  by  P.  F.  Collier. 


Onward  315 

and  in  power  as  this  Nation  has  seen  during  the  century 
and  a  quarter  of  its  national  hfe  is  inevitably  accompanied 
by  a  like  growth  in  the  problems  which  are  ever  before 
every  nation  that  rises  to  greatness.  Power  invariably 
means  both  responsibility  and  danger.  Our  forefathers 
faced  certain  perils  which  we  have  outgrown.  We  now 
face  other  perils,  the  very  existence  of  which  it  was  im- 
possible that  they  should  foresee.  Modern  hfe  is  both 
complex  and  intense,  and  the  tremendous  changes  wrought 
by  the  extraordinary  industrial  development  of  the  last 
half  century  are  felt  in  every  fiber  of  our  social  and  political 
being. 

Never  before  have  men  tried  so  vast  and  formidable 
an  experiment  as  that  of  administering  the  affairs  of  a 
continent  under  the  forms  of  a  democratic  republic.  The 
conditions  which  have  told  for  our  marvelous  material 
well-being,  which  have  developed  to  a  very  high  degree 
our  energy,  self-reliance,  and  individual  initiative,  have 
also  brought  the  care  and  anxiety  inseparable  from  the 
accumulation  of  great  wealth  in  industrial  centers.  Upon 
the  success  of  our  experiment  much  depends  ;  not  only  as 
regards  our  own  welfare,  but  as  regards  the  welfare  of 
mankind.  If  we  fail,  the  cause  of  free  self-government 
throughout  the  world  will  rock  to  its  foundations ;  and 
therefore  our  responsibility  is  heavy,  to  ourselves,  to 
the  world  as  it  is  today,  and  to  the  generations  yet 
unborn. 

There  is  no  good  reason  why  we  should  fear  the  future, 
but  there  is  every  reason  why  we  should  face  it  seriously, 
neither  hiding  from  ourselves  the  gravity  of  the  problems 
before  us  nor  fearing  to  approach  these  problems  with  the 
unbending,  unflinching  purpose  to  solve  them  aright. 


S16  The  American  Spirit 

THE   RIGHT   OF   THE   PEOPLE   TO   RULE  i 
Theodore  Roosevelt 

Friends,  our  task  as  Americans  is  to  strive  for  social 
and  industrial  justice,  achieved  through  the  genuine  rule 
of  the  people.     This  is  our  end,  our  purpose. 

The  methods  for  achieving  the  end  aie  merely  expedi- 
ents, to  be  finally  accepted  or  rejected  according  as  actual 
experience  shows  that  they  work  well  or  ill.  But  in  our 
hearts  we  must  have  this  lofty  purpose,  and  we  must 
strive  for  it  in  all  earnestness  and  sincerity,  or  our  work 
will  come  to  nothing. 

In  order  to  succeed,  we  need  leaders  of  inspired  ideal- 
ism, leaders  to  whom  are  granted  great  visions,  who  dream 
greatly  and  strive  to  make  their  dreams  come  true ;  who 
can  kindle  the  people  with  the  fire  from  their  own  burn- 
ing souls.  The  leader  for  the  time  being,  whoever  he 
may  be,  is  but  an  instrument,  to  be  used  until  broken  and 
then  to  be  cast  aside  ;  and  if  he  is  worth  his  salt,  he  will 
care  no  more  when  he  is  broken  than  a  soldier  cares  when 
he  is  sent  where  his  life  is  forfeit  in  order  that  the  victory 
may  be  won.  In  the  long  fight  for  righteousness  the 
watchword  for  all  of  us  is,  spend  and  be  spent.  It  is 
of  little  matter  whether  any  one  man  fails  or  succeeds ; 
but  the  cause  shall  not  fail,  for  it  is  the  cause  of  man- 
kind. 

We,  here  in  America,  hold  in  our  hands  the  hope  of 
the  world,  the  fate  of  the  coming  years ;  and  shame  and 
disgrace  will  be  ours  if  in  our  eyes  the  light  of  high  resolve 

*  From  a  speech  made  by  Mr.  Roosevelt  at  Carnegie  Hall  in 
New  York,  March  20,  1912,  Issued  in  pamphlet  form  over  Mr. 
Roosevelt's  signature  by  the  National  Progressive  party. 


Onward  317 

is  dimmed,  if  we  trail  in  the  dust  the  golden  hopes  of 
men.  If  on  this  new  continent  we  merely  build  another 
country  of  great  but  unjustly  divided  material  prosperity, 
we  shall  have  done  nothing ;  and  we  shall  do  as  little  if 
we  merely  set  the  greed  of  envy  against  the  greed  of  arro- 
gance, and  thereby  destroy  the  material  well-being  of  all 
of  us.  To  turn  this  Government  either  into  government 
by  a  plutocracy  or  government  by  a  mob,  would  be  to 
repeat  on  a  larger  scale  the  lamentable  failures  of  the 
world  that  is  dead. 

We  stand  against  all  tyranny,  by  the  few  or  by  the 
many.  We  stand  for  the  rule  of  the  many  in  the  interest 
of  all  of  us,  for  the  rule  of  the  many  in  a  spirit  of  courage, 
of  common  sense,  of  high  purpose ;  above  all,  in  a  spirit 
of  kindly  justice  toweu'd  every  man  and  every  woman. 
We  not  merely  admit,  but  insist,  that  there  must  be  self- 
control  on  the  part  of  the  people,  that  they  must  keenly 
perceive  their  own  duties  as  well  as  the  rights  of  others ; 
but  we  also  insist  that  the  people  can  do  nothing  unless 
they  not  merely  have,  but  exercise  to  the  full,  their  own 
rights. 

The  worth  of  our  great  experiment  depends  upon  its 
being  in  good  faith  an  experiment  —  the  first  that  has 
ever  been  tried  —  in  true  democracy  on  the  scale  of  a 
continent,  on  a  scale  as  vast  as  that  of  the  mightiest 
empires  of  the  Old  World.  Surely  this  is  a  noble  ideal, 
an  ideal  for  which  it  is  worth  while  to  strive,  an  ideal 
for  which  at  need  it  is  worth  while  to  sacrifice  much; 
for  our  ideal  is  the  rule  of  all  the  people  in  a  spirit  of 
friendhest  brotherhood  toward  each  and  every  one  of 
the  people. 


818  The  American  Spirit 

LOOK  UP,  LOOK  FORTH,  AND  ONI^ 
Bayard  Taylor  (1825-1878) 

Look  up,  look  forth,  and  on ! 

There's  light  in  the  dawning  sky : 
The  clouds  are  parting,  the  night  is  gone : 

Prepare  for  the  work  of  the  day  I 

Fallow  thy  pastures  he. 

And  far  thy  shepherds  stray, 
And  the  fields  of  thy  vast  domain 

Awaiting  for  purer  seed 

Of  knowledge,  desire,  and  deed. 
For  keener  sunshine  and  mellower  rain  I 

But  keep  thy  garments  pure  : 
Pluck  them  back,  with  the  old  disdain, 

From  touch  of  the  hands  that  stain  I 

So  shall  thy  strength  endure. 
Transmute  into  good  the  gold  of  Gain, 
Compel  to  beauty  thy  ruder  powers, 

Till  the  bounty  of  coming  hours 

Shall  plant,  on  thy  fields  apart, 
With  the  oak  of  Toil,  the  rose  of  Art  I 

Be  watchful,  and  keep  us  so : 

Be  strong,  and  fear  no  foe : 

Be  just,  and  the  world  shall  know ! 
With  the  same  love  love  us,  as  we  give ; 

And  the  day  shall  never  come, 

^  The  author  was  an  American  journalist  and  man  of  letters, 
writer  of  many  volumes,  chiefly  accounts  of  travel.  He  gave  to 
the  American  people  their  first  intimate  and  popular  view  of  many 
foreign  lands. 

From  *'The  National  Ode,"  delivered  in  Independence  Square, 
Philadelphia,  July  4,  1876.  From  facsimile  copy  sent  by  the 
author  to  Joseph  R.  Osgood  &  Co.,  Boston,  July  5,  1876. 


Onward  319  ; 

i 

That  finds  us  weak  or  dumb  j 

To  join  and  smite  and  cry  ! 

In  the  great  task,  for  thee  to  die,  ■ 

And  the  greater  task,  for  thee  to  live  I  j 

THE  SHIP  OF  STATE  1  ! 

I 

Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow  (1807-1882) 

Thou,  too,  sail  on,  0  Ship  of  State  I  ^ 

Sail  on,  0  Union,  strong  and  great !  i 

Humanity,  with  all  its  fears,  ' 

With  all  the  hopes  of  future  years,  ^ 

Is  hanging  breathless  on  thy  fate !  j 

We  know  what  Master  laid  thy  keel,  j 

What  Workman  wrought  thy  ribs  of  steel,  i 

Who  made  each  mast  and  sail  and  rope,  ] 
What  anvils  rang,  what  hammers  beat. 

In  what  a  forge  and  what  a  heat  : 

Were  shaped  the  anchors  of  thy  hope  I  i 

Fear  not  each  sudden  sound  and  shock,  ^ 

'Tis  of  the  wave  and  not  the  rock ;  J 

'Tis  but  the  flapping  of  the  sail,  } 

And  not  a  rent  made  by  the  gale  I  ' 

In  spite  of  rock  and  tempest's  roar,  ; 

In  spite  of  false  lights  on  the  shore,  '■ 
Sail  on,  nor  fear  to  breast  the  sea  I 

Our  hearts,  our  hopes,  are  all  with  thee,  ^ 

Our  hearts,  our  hopes,  our  prayers,  our  tears,  ; 

Our  faith  triumphant  o'er  our  fears,  i 

Are  all  with  thee,  —  are  all  with  thee  I  \ 

1  From    "The    Building   of   the    Ship,"    in  Longfellow's  Poetical  'j 

Works,  Vol.  I.-    Copyright,  1886,  by  Houghton  Mifflin  Company, 
Boston.     Used  by  permission  of  the  publishers.  ; 

-i 
] 


320  The  American  Spirit 

A  BASIS  FOR  WORLD  DEMOCRACY  ^ 
David  Starr  Jordan  (1851-        ) 

Through  the  ages,  says  Barbusse,  "the  people  are 
nothing ;  they  should  be  everything."  ^  This  epigram  of 
the  French  soldier  may  well  be  a  watchword  of  democracy. 
The  modern  world,  to  accept  the  current  paraphrase 
from  Lincoln,  "cannot  endure  half-slave,  half-free," 
that  is,  half  of  it  under  government  "of  the  people,  by 
the  people,  for  the  people,"  half  of  it  subject  to  irrespon- 
sible ohgarchies,  parasitic  on  the  people  through  the 
"divine  right  of  kings."  Wherever  arbitrary  power 
exists,  it  will  be  used  in  arbitrary  ways.  The  only 
antidote  to  its  abuses  is  to  be  found  in  government  by 
the  people.  This  is  no  instantaneous  remedy,  to  be 
applied  once  for  all.  It  is  a  process  of  growth.  The 
people  must  feel  their  way,  learning  from  their  own 
mistakes,  building  their  loftier  ideals  on  the  wreckage 
of  past  hopes. 

It  matters  little  what  the  shortcomings  of  democracy 
are.  The  essential  thing  is  progress  in  enhghtenment 
and  justice ;  the  way  leads  through  freedom.  No  people 
ever  had  a  government  better  than  it  deserved.  It  is 
a  quaUty  of  democracy  always  to  deserve  something 
better.  A  perfect  government  would  be  superfluous. 
As  Goethe  once  observed,  "The  best  government  is  that 
which  renders   itself-  unnecessary."     The   besetting   sin 

1  Dr.  Jordan,  a  noted  scientist  and  publicist,  was  first  president 
and  the  builder  of  Leland  Stanford  Junior  University. 
From   "Democracy   and  World   Relations."      Copyright,    1918, 
by  World  Book  Company,  Yonkers-on-Hudson,  New  York. 

*"Le5  peuples,  c'est  rien;  et  ca  devrait  elre  tout;  une  phrase  histo- 
rique  vieille  de  plus  d'un  siecle." 


Onward  321 

of  most  governments  which  endeavor  to  be  good  is  that 
they  attempt  too  many  things  the  people  should  do  for 
themselves.  The  highest  duty  of  government  is  to  keep 
the  road  unobstructed  so  that  each  man  can  make  his 
own  way  for  himself.  .  .  . 

In  democracy  the  freedom  of  the  individual  is  vital, 
—  equally  so  its  necessary  limitation,  non-interference 
with  the  liberty  of  others.  The  same  principle  should 
obtain  in  financial  and  commercial  relations  as  well.  The 
freedom  for  which  our  fathers  contended  was  freedom 
of  the  soul,  not  unrestrained  hcense  to  control  or  oppress, 
whether  through  accumulated  wealth  or  wide-ranging 
combination.  By  some  means,  labor  must  become  as 
free  as  the  wealth  it  produces,  and  human  life  must  be 
as  highly  cherished  as  property. 

It  is  certain  that  the  war  will  bring  many  changes 
inside  and  outside  the  various  nations.  Universal  revo- 
lution is  ahead  of  us  —  and  maybe  universal  collapse. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  inevitable  up- 
heavals, bidding  fair  to  stir  society  to  its  depths,  shall 
be  bloodless,  and  yet  sweep  away  precisely  those  institu- 
tions which  most  impede  social  advance. 

Democracy  may  not  necessarily  build  up  great  states, 
but  permanent  greatness  can  rest  on  no  other  founda- 
tion than  democracy,  fn  the  future  the  people  must 
indeed  be  everything.  That  nation  is  great  which  to  its 
rank  and  file  "  means  opportunity  "  and  which,  further, 
breeds  men  capable  of  seizing  the  opportunities  that  arise. 

As  the  war  goes  on,  we  glimpse  the  dawn  of  a  larger 
freedom.  "War  to  end  war"  now  looks  forward  to  the 
achievement  of  a  "clean  peace"  on  the  basis  of  a  "new 
morahty"  among  nations,  a  settlement  in  which  no 
selfish  interests,  national  or  personal,  shall  prevail  and 


322  The  American  Spirit 

no  advantage  accrue  through  military  decision.  Such 
an  ending  will  find  few  precedents  in  history.^  It  is 
the  part  of  democracy  to  create  precedent.  .  .  . 

If  this  stoutly  remains  our  aim,  we  shall  open  the  door 
to  a  new  world-outlook  as  inspiring  as  that  disclosed  by 
the  Renaissance,  by  our  own  Revolution,  or  by  the  Eman- 
cipation Proclamation.  Deeds,  not  words,  must  decide. 
Yet  we  are  leading  the  way  from  obstructive  nationalism 
with  its  oppressions  and  rivalries  forward  to  the  open 
fields  of  a  broad  humanity.  From  the  first  impulse  to 
go  to  the  rescue  of  Belgium,  on  to  the  last  grapple  with  a 
dynastic  state,  the  purpose  of  democracy  everywhere 
has  been  unflinching  and  must  be  continuous.  .  .  . 

The  new  morality  inheres  in  the  four  imperatives 
proclaimed  by  President  Wilson  on  February  11,  1918. 
He  insists 

1.  that  Each  part  of  the  final  settlement  must  be  based  upon 

the  essential  justice  of  that  particular  cause,  and  upon 
such  adjustments  as  are  most  likely  to  bring  peace  that 
will  be  permanent; 

2.  that  Peoples  and  provinces  are  not  to  be  bartered   about 

from  sovereignty  to  sovereignty  as  if  they  were  mere 
chattels  and  pawns  in  a  game,  even  the  great  game,  now 
forever  discredited,  of  the  balance  of  power ;  but 

3.  that  Every  territorial  settlement  involved  in  this  war  must 

be  made  in  the  interest  and  for  the  benefit  of  the  popu- 
lations concerned,  and  not  as  a  part  of  any  mere  adjust- 
ment or  compromise  of  claims  amongst  rival  states ;   and 

4.  that  All  well-defined  national  aspirations  shall  be  accorded 

the  utmost  satisfaction  that  can  be  accorded  them  with- 
out introducing  new  or  perpetuating  old  elements  of 
discord  and  antagonism  that  would  be  hkely  in  time  to 
break  the  peace  of  Europe  and  consequently  of  the  world. 

1  The  Treaty  of  Ghent,  closing  the  War  of  1812,  may  be  a  case  in 
point. 


Onward  323 

On  a  basis  such  as  this,  international  order  must  rest ; 
modern  civihzation  will  be  content  with  nothing  less. 
The  acceptance  of  these  principles  would  mark  the  end 
of  the  medieval  era  in  world-politics.  It  would  square 
international  relations  with  the  advances  already  achieved 
by  science,  ethics,  and  religion  within  the  social  order. 

THE  NEW  INDEPENDENCE  DAY  i 

WooDROw  Wilson 

.  .  .  This,  then,  is  our  conception  of  the  great  struggle 
in  which  we  are  engaged.  The  plot  is  written  plain 
upon  every  scene  and  every  act  of  the  supreme  tragedy. 
On  the  one  hand  stand  the  peoples  of  the  world  —  not 
only  the  peoples  actually  engaged,  but  many  others, 
also,  who  suffer  under  mastery  but  cannot  act;  peoples 
of  many  races  and  in  every  part  of  the  world  —  the  people 
of  stricken  Russia  still,  among  the  rest,  though  they  are 
for  the  moment  unorganized  and  helpless.  Opposed  to 
them,  masters  of  many  armies,  stand  an  isolated,  friend- 
less group  of  Governments,  who  speak  no  common  pur- 
pose, but  only  selfish  ambitions  of  their  own,  by  which 
none  can  profit  but  themselves,  and  whose  peoples  are 
fuel  in  their  hands ;  Governments  which  fear  their  people, 
and  yet  are  for  the  time  being  sovereign  lords,  making 
every  choice  for  them  and  disposing  of  their  lives  and 
fortunes  as  they  will,  as  well  as  of  the  fives  and  fortunes 
of  every  people  who  fall  under  their  power  —  Govern- 
ments clothed  with  the  strange  trappings  and  the  primi- 
tive authority  of  an  age  that  is  altogether  afien  and  hos- 

1  From  address  delivered  at  Mount  Vernon,  July  4,  1918,  as  pub- 
lished in  the  New  York  Times,  July  5,  1918. 


324  The  American  Spirit 

tile  to  our  own.  The  Past  and  the  Present  are  in  deadly 
grapple,  and  the  peoples  of  the  world  are  being  done  to 
death  between  them. 

There  can  be  but  one  issue.  The  settlement  must  be 
final.  There  can  be  no  compromise.  No  halfway  decision 
would  be  tolerable.  No  halfway  decision  is  conceivable. 
These  are  the  ends  for  which  the  associated  peoples  of 
the  world  are  fighting  and  which  must  be  conceded  them 
before  there  can  be  peace : 

I.  The  destruction  of  every  arbitrary  power  anywhere 
that  can  separately,  secretly,  and  of  its  single  choice  dis- 
turb the  peace  of  the  world ;  or,  if  it  cannot  be  presently 
destroyed,  at  the  least  its  reduction  to  virtual  impotence. 

II.  The  settlement  of  every  question,  whether  of  terri- 
tory, of  sovereignty,  of  economic  arrangement,  or  of 
political  relationship,  upon  the  basis  of  the  free  accept- 
ance of  that  settlement  by  the  people  immediately  con- 
cerned, and  not  upon  the  basis  of  the  material  interest 
or  advantage  of  any  other  nation  or  people  which  may 
desire  a  different  settlement  for  the  sake  of  its  own  ex- 
terior influence  or  mastery. 

III.  The  consent  of  all  nations  to  be  governed  in  their 
conduct  toward  each  other  by  the  same  principles  of 
honor  and  of  respect  for  the  common  law  of.  civilized 
society  that  govern  the  individual  citizens  of  all  modern 
States  in  their  relations  with  one  another;  to  the  end 
that  all  promises  and  covenants  may  be  sacredly  observed, 
no  private  plots  or  conspiracies  hatched,  no  selfish  in- 
juries wrought  with  impunity,  and  a  mutual  trust  estab- 
lished upon  the  handsome  foundation  of  a  mutual  respect 
for  right. 

IV.  The  establishment  of  .an  organization  of  peace 
which  shall  make  it  certain  that  the  combined  power  of 


Onward  325 

free  nations  will  check  every  invasion  of  right  and  serve 
to  make  peace  and  justice  the  more  secure  by  affording 
a  definite  tribunal  of  opinion  to  which  all  must  submit 
and  by  which  every  international  readjustment  that 
cannot  be  amicably  agreed  upon  by  the  peoples  directly 
concerned  shall  be  sanctioned. 

These  great  objects  can  be  put  into  a  single  sentence. 
What  we  seek  is  the  reign  of  law,  based  upon  the  consent 
of  the  governed  and  sustained  by  the  organized  opinion 
of  mankind. 

These  great  ends  cannot  be  achieved  by  debating  and 
seeking  to  reconcile  and  accommodate  what  statesmen 
may  wish  with  their  projects  for  balances  of  power,  and 
of  national  opportunity.  They  can  be  realized  only  by 
the  determination  of  what  the  thinking  peoples  of  the 
world  desire,  with  their  longing  hope  for  justice  and 
for  social  freedom  and  opportunity. 

I  can  fancy  that  the  air  of  this  place  carries  the  accents 
of  such  principles  with  a  peculiar  kindness.  Here  were 
started  forces  which  the  great  nation  against  which  they 
were  primarily  directed  at  first  regarded  as  a  revolt  against 
its  rightful  authority,  but  which  it  has  long  since  seen  to 
have  been  a  step  in  the  hberation  of  its  own  people  as 
well  as  of  the  people  of  the  United  States ;  and  I  stand 
here  now  to  speak  —  speak  proudly  and  with  confident 
hope  —  of  the  spread  of  this  revolt,  this  liberation,  to 
the  great  stage  of  the  world  itself!  The  blinded  rulers 
of  Prussia  have  roused  forces  they  knew  little  of  —  forces 
which,  once  roused,  can  never  be  crushed  to  earth  again ; 
for  they  have  at  their  heart  an  inspiration  and  a  purpose 
which  are  deathless  and  of  the  very  stuff  of  triumph  I 


326  The  American  Spirit 

CARRY  ONP 
Robert  W.  Service  (1876-        ) 

It's  easy  to  fight  when  everything's  right, 

And  you're  mad  with  the  thrill  and  the  glory ; 

It's  easy  to  cheer  when  victory's  near, 

And  wallow  in  fields  that  are  gory. 

It's  a  different  song  when  everything's  wrong. 

When  you're  feeling  infernally  mortal ; 

When  it's  ten  against  one,  and  hope  there  is  none, 

Buck  up,  little  soldier,  and  chortle : 

Carry  on !     Carry  on ! 
There  isn't  much  punch  in  your  blow, 
You're  glaring  and  staring  and  hitting  out  blind ; 
You're  muddy  and  bloody,  but  never  you  mind. 
Carry  on !     Carry  on ! 
You  haven't  the  ghost  of  a  show. 
It's  looking  like  death,  but  while  you've  a  breath, 
Carry  on,  my  son !     Carry  on  1 

And  so  in  the  strife  of  the  battle  of  life 
It's  easy  to  fight  when  you're  winning ; 
It's  easy  to  slave,  and  starve  and  be  brave. 
When  the  dawn  of  success  is  beginning. 
But  the  man  who  can  meet  despair  and  defeat 
With  a  cheer,  there's  a  man  of  God's  choosing ; 
The  man  who  can  fight  to  Heaven's  own  height 
Is  the  man  who  can  fight  when  he's  losing. 

^  No  other  poem  more  forcefully  expresses  the  spirit  of  the  present 
war. 

From  "Rhymes  of  a  Red  Cross  Man."  Copyright,  1916,  by  Rarse 
and  Hopkins,  New  York.     Used  by  permission  of  the  publishers. 


Onward  327 

Carry  on !     Carry  on !  ^                          ^ 

Things  never  were  looming  so  black. 

But  show  that  you  haven't  a  cowardly  streak,  | 

And  though  you're  unlucky  you  never  are  weak.  i 

Carry  on !     Carry  on !  ] 

Brace  up  for  another  attack.  ■ 

It's  looking  like  hell,  but  —  you  never  can  tell :  ^ 

Carry  on,  old  man !     Carry  on !  ' ; 

There  are  some  who  drift  out  in  the  deserts  of  doubt, 

And  some  who  in  brutishness  wallow ;  i 

There  are  others,  I  know,  who  in  piety  go  .j 

Because  of  a  Heaven  to  follow.  ': 

But  to  labor  with  zest,  and  to  give  of  your  best, 

For  the  sweetness  and  joy  of  the  giving ;  ] 

To  help  folks  along  with  a  hand  and  a  song ;  ' 

Why,  there's  the  real  sunshine  of  living.  ■ 

Carry  on !     Carry  on  I  \ 

Fight  the  good  fight  and  true ;  ^ 

Believe  in  your  mission,  greet  Ufe  with  a  cheer ; 

There's  big  work  to  do,  and  that's  why  you  are  here?.  J 

Carry  on !     Carry  on  I  j 

Let  the  world  be  the  better  for  you ;  ] 

And  at  last  when  you  die,  let  this  be  your  cry : 

Carry  on,  my  soul!    Carry  on!  i 


INDEX  TO  SUBJECTS 


Alien.     See  Immigrant  citizen 

America,  as  a  vindication  of  de- 
mocracy, 227,  314-315,  320-323 ; 
inheritance  of,  229-230 

America  first,  222-223,  228-229, 
230-235 

American  citizenship.  See  Citi- 
zenship 

American  Federation  of  Labor. 
See  Labor,  American  Federation 
of 

American  independence,  at  stake  in 
present  war,  251-255,  256-257 

Americanism,  257 ;  Theodore 
Roosevelt  on,  91-93  ;  its  distinc- 
tiveness, 93-94,  97-100;  pecu- 
liarities of  liberty,  100-101 ;  char- 
acteristics of,  209-217 ;  responsi- 
bilities of,  314-315 

Americans,  origin  of,  7-10 ;  making 
of,  200-201 ;  of  foreign  birth, 
202-205,  225-226.  See  Immi- 
grant 

America's  purpose  in  the  world  war. 
See  World  war,  America  in 

Anglo-Saxon  civilization,  7 

Aristocracy.     See  Privilege 

Austro-Hungary,  272,  279-290, 
296—297   307 

Autocracy!  239-240,  254-255,  247- 
249,  270.     See  Germany 

Belgium,  sacrifice  of,  in  present  war, 

247-249,  253,  263 
Bible,    influence   of,    on   American 

history,  12-14,  19 
Boone,  Daniel,  21 
Boxer  indemnity,  215 
Bravery,   personal,   a  trait  of  the 

American  Spirit,   1,   6-7,  82-83, 

160-161 
Breadth  of  view,  a  characteristic  of 

the  American  Spirit,  26,  28-31 
Brotherhood  of  man,  a  fundamental 

belief,  22,  123-124,  140,  161-165, 

199-200,  203-204,  284-286 
Bulgaria,  301 

Cavaliers.  8-10,  233 

Citizenship,  91-93,  105-107  ;    price 

of,  207-210,  217-219,  230-233 
Class    distinctions.     See    Privilege, 

special 


Colonization  policy,  250-251 
Columbus,  Christopher,  1-3 
Commerical  greed  not  an  American 

trait,  86-88,  158,  221-222 
Common  man,  belief  in,  a  trait  of 
the  American  Spirit,  20-22,  26- 
27,  45-49,  65-66,  72-77,  91-93, 
102-103,  119-120,  123-124,  129- 
131,  132-133,  214-215 
Cooper,  James  Fenimore,  21 
Courage.     See  Bravery,  personal 
Crisis,  the  present,  239-240,  241- 
244,  245-304 

Declaration  of  Independence,  9, 
97,  98 

Democracy,  foundations  of  country 
laid  in,  20-22,  25,  28,  43-45,  48- 
49,  56-57,  91-93,  95-96,  142  ;  the 
goal  of  history,  93-94  ;  and  labor, 
108-110,  125;  world,  108-110, 
320-323;  characteristics  of,  116- 
122;  and  life,  123-137;  educa- 
tional influence  of,  206-209; 
America  a  vindication  of,  227 ; 
the  world  safe  for,  255,  258,  261- 
274,  279-283,  289-292,  294-296, 
313-317,  320-323  ;  and  efiiciency, 
see  Efficiency 

Diplomacy,  Old  World  vs.  New 
World.  215 

Duty,  sense  of,  essential  to  Ameri- 
can Spirit,  1D2-103,  104,  105- 
107,  242-244,  314-315 

Education,  belief  in,  a  trait  of  the 
American  Spirit,  41,  66 ;  essential 
to  America,  66,  111,  206-209, 
225 

Efficiency  and  democracy,  206-209 

England,  7 ;  protection  of,  in 
present  war,  246 

English  race  and  the  founding  of 
America,  6,  7-10,  67-68 

Equality,  72,  98.  See  Common 
man  and  Democracy 

Faith  in  ideals.     See  Idealism 
Foreign-born  citizens.     See  Immi- 
grant citizens 
Foreigner  in  a  democracy,  206-209  ; 
loyalty  of,  209-217 ;  problem  of, 
233-234 


329 


330 


Index  to  Subjects 


Foreign  relations  of  our  govern- 
ment, 41-43,  74-76 

Freedom,  2-3,  67,  70-72,  77,  102- 
103,  229-230,  236-237,  243-244, 
321 

Frontier,  influence  of,  on  American 
Spirit,  25-28,  112-115 

Future,  faith  in,  2-3,  242-243 

Generosity  toward  enemies  a  trait 
of  the  American  Spirit,  59-60, 
62-63,  80-81,  83-84 

German-Americans,  222-223,  228 

Germany,  and  the  present  war, 
239-240,  245-255,  256-257,  262- 
274,  286-292  ;  barbarity  of,  247- 
249,  262,  298  ;  long  preparedness 
for  war,  249,  288-292;  nnilita- 
rism  in  control  of,  250,  277-278  ; 
menace  of,  258,  276-279  ;  present 
Germany  not  the  old,  259-261 ; 
the  people  of,  268,  277,  289-290, 
295-297;  tyranny  of,  280-283; 
progress  of,  before  the  war,  287- 
292 

"God's  Country,"  221 

Government,  faith  in  our,  37-38, 
73-74,  100-101,  310-311 

Grant,  Ulysses  S.,  78-79 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  98 
Hardships  of  life  and  its  influence 

on  the  national   character,   6-7, 

7-9,  16-18,  18-20,  28,  31,  56-57, 

58-60 
Heroism,  moral,  78,  79-80 
Home,  the  American,  129-131 
Honor,  national,  68-69 
Humanity.     See    Brotherhood     of 

man 
Humility,  national,  166 
Humor,  a  trait  of  American  Spirit, 

45-51 
Hyphenated  citizens,  219-222.     See 

Immigrant  citizens 

Idealism,  a  characteristic  of  Ameri- 
can Spirit,  1-2,  3-5,  11-14,  22, 
23,  24,  26,  44-^5,  59,  62-63,  216- 
217 
Idleness  and  idle  class.  See  Work 
Immigrant  citizens,  contributions 
of,  to  America,  199-200,  230-233, 
235-236  ;  citizens  by  free  choice, 
202-205,  228-229,  230-232  ;  loy- 
alty of,  209-217,  220,  222-223, 


228-229,    272-274;    early    expe. 

rience     of,    209-210,     223-228; 

naturalization  of,  217-219 
Imperialism,   foreign   to  American 

ideals,  85-86,  89-90 
Individuality,  a  trait  of  American 

Spirit,  2-3,  9-10,  33,  53,  114 
Industrial    efficiency,    essential    to 

America,  107-110,  111 
Internationalism,  211-214,  217 
International  law,  violation  of,  by 

Germany,  246-247,  262-265 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  8 
Justice,    204,    257,    274-275,    294- 
295,316-317;   belief  in,  11-14 

Labor,  American  Federation  of, 
108-110,  258 

Labor  and  capital,  influence  of 
frontier  on,  25 ;  just  relations 
essential,  108-110;  and  democ- 
racy, 108-110,  125,  258,  314-317 

Liberty,  70-72,  77,  181-183,  214- 
215,  224 ;  belief  in,  a  character- 
istic of  the  American  Spirit,  3-4, 
18-21,  28,  100-101,  104,  105,  141, 
155,  255,  258  ;  limits  of,  104-105, 
141-142 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  256 ;  charac- 
teristics of,  43^5,  51-56,  58-61 ; 
humor  of,  45-50;  sympathy  of, 
50-51 ;  a  typical  American,  51- 
54  ;   a  national  idol,  226 

Living,  standards  of.  See  Stand- 
ards of  living 

Magnanimity,  a  trait  of  the  Ameri- 
can Spirit,  57-60,  62-63,  80-81, 
83-84 

Massachusetts,  9 

Mayflower,  the,  14,  16,  19,  243 

Memorial  Day,  186 

Mercy.  See  Generosity  and  Mag- 
nanimity 

Militarism,  210,  250,  268-269,  276- 
283,  284-286,  289-292,  293-294 

Monarchy  and  democracy  com- 
pared, 110-112 

Monroe  Doctrine,  74-76,  245,  251- 
252 

Moral  character  of  people,  basis  of 
democracy,  99-100,  111,  154- 
157,  232-233 

Moral  courage,  160-161 

Moral  ideals.     See  Ideals 


Index  to  Subjects 


331 


Nations,  unity  of,  108,  lGl-165; 
smaller,  306-307 

Native  land,  145-153,  219-222, 
225-226 

Naturalization,  200-201,  202-205, 
209-211 

Nature,  bounties  of,  given  to 
America,  3-5 

New  England,  9-10,  18-22;  con- 
tributions of,  to  civilization,  18- 
22 

New  World,  2-3.  211,  228 

North  and  South,  7 

Officials,  public,  duties  of,  105-107, 

190-192 
Old  World,  200-213,  235-236,  242, 

317 
Opportunity,  America  the  land  of, 

3-4,     27 ;      a    characteristic     of 

American  life,  108-110 
Oppression,  opposition  to,  12-14 
Optimism  of  Americans,  110 

Panama  Canal.  251 

Pan-America,  89-90 

Pan-Germanism,  289-290 

Partisanship,  dangers  of,  37-39 

Patriotism,  139-1G6  ;  necessary  for 
democracy  of  our  government, 
37^0 ;  what  it  is,  68-69 ;  faith 
in  our  government,  73-74  ;  duty 
of,  140-143  ;  value  of,  140-143  ; 
glory  of,  143-144  ;  love  of  coun- 
try, 145 ;  moral  quality  of,  154- 
157,  161-165;  the  higher,  161- 
165 

Peace,  belief  in,  a  trait  of  the  Ameri- 
can Spirit.  78,  80-81 ;  terms  of, 
294-296,  298-302,  305-310,  322- 
323;  return  of,  302-304;  basis 
of  a  worid,  305-310 

Persistence,  an  American  trait,  133- 
137,  323-324 

Philippine  Islands,  85-86 

Pilgrims,  landing  of,  14-15,  16 ; 
early  traits  of,  17-18 ;  character 
of,  22 

Pioneer  life,  trials  of,  16-18,  28-31, 
43-44 

Pioneer  spirit,  1-31 ;  of  discovery, 
1-5  ;  of  colonization,  6,  16-22  ;  of 
the  frontier,  25-31 

Plains,  influence  of,  on  American 
Spirit,  25-30,  44,  114-115 

Poland,  300-308 


Popular  government,  essential  to 
America,  100-101 

Practical  judgment,  a  trait  of  Amer- 
ican Spirit,  12-14,  47,  65 

Present  crisis.     See  Crisis 

Privilege,  special,  foreign  to  the 
American  Spirit,  91-93,  12^129, 
210-211 

Providence,  belief  in,  12-13 

Prussia.     See  Germany 

Prussianism,  247-249,  258,  259,  270 

Public  affairs,  interest  in,  92 

Public  opinion,  90 

Public  servants.  See  Officials, 
public 

Puritanism,  9-10,  11-14 

Quakers,  23,  199 

Radical  political  thought  and  de- 
mocracy, 117-119 

Red  Cross,  79-80 

Religious  faith,  a  characteristic  of 
the  American  Spirit,  1-2,  3-5,  6, 
11-14,  22,  23,  24,  120,  130,  132- 
133,  166,  274-275 

Religious  freedom,  15,  155 

Revolution,  American,  9 ;  and  de- 
mocracy, 117-120,  211,  269 

Russia,  Democratic  revolution  in, 
269-270,  282-283,  299,  306 

Sectionalism,  dangers  of,  38-41 
Self-government,  9  ;    the  safeguard 

of  liberty,  206-209 
Sincerity,  a  phase  of  the  American 

Spirit,  44,  45 
Socialism,  120-122. 
South,    contribution   of   the,    6-7; 

and  North,  see  North  and  South 
Spanish     America,     Pan-American 

policy,  80-81 ;  Monroe  Doctrine, 

8.5-86 
Spanish- American  War,  79-80,  81, 

82,  133-137,  212 
Standards  of  living,  high,  essential 

to  America,  109-110 
Submarine  warfare,  262-263 

Turkey,  301,  308 

Vienna,  Congress  of,  298 
Virginians,  3-5,  8-10,  21-22,  112 
Voluntary  citizenship,  202-205 


332 


Index  to  Subjects 


War,  declaration  of,  265-266 

"Washington,  George,  10 ;  greatest 
of  national  leaders,  33  ;  character 
of,  33-37  ;  soldier  and  statesman, 
36-37  ;   counsels  of,  37-43 

West,  influence  of,  on  American 
Spirit,  25-28,  28-29,  112-115 

Wheeler,  Joseph,  82-83 

Women,  influence  of,  on  American 
Spirit,  15,  28-31 


Work,  belief  in,  a  characteristic  of 
American  Spirit,  22,  92,  125-127, 
128-129,  235-236,  318 
World  power  or  downfall,  239 
World  war,  239-240;  causes  of, 
245-255,  262-274,  276-283,  286- 
290,  310-317;  preparation  for, 
249;  America  in  the,  265-274, 
274-283,  290-292,  292-302,  SOS- 
SI  0.     See  Crisis,  present 


INDEX  TO  AUTHORS,   TITLES,  AND 
THE  FIRST  LINES  OF  POEMS 

Authors'  names  are  given  in  capitals  and  small  capitals,  titles  of  extracts 
in  plain  capitals  and  small  letters,  and  first  lines  of  poems  in  italics. 


After  all,  one  country,  brethren,  237 

Alien  to  Citizen,  From,  217 

America  (S.  F.  Smith),  139 

America  (Bayard  Taylor),  199 

America,  Characteristics  of,  65 

America  Alone,  222 

America  First  (Theodore  Roose- 
velt), 233 

America  First  (Woodrow  Wilson), 
230 

America  for  Me !   93 

America  the  Beautiful,  158 

American  Democracy,  The  Mean- 
ing of,  286 

American  Flag,  The,  179 

American  Flag  Not  the  Dollar  Sign, 
The,  86 

American  Ideals  Not  Imperialistic, 
85 

American  Liberty,  Peculiarity  of, 
100 

American  Republic,  The,  97 

Americanism,  91 

Americans  of  Foreign  Birth,  202 

America's  Cause  and  the  Foreign- 
born  Citizen,  228 

America's  Purpose  in  the  War,  292 

Ames,  Fisher:  What  is  Patriot- 
ism? 68 

Aristokrats,  128 

Armageddon,  284 

Arnold,  Sir  Edwin  :  Armageddon, 
284 

A  tale  half  told  and  hardly  under- 
stood, 29 

Basis  for  World  Democracy,  A,  320 
Bates,  Katharine  Lee  :   America 

the  Beautiful,  158 
Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic,  274 
Beecher,     Henry    Ward  :      The 

Symbol  of  Our  Nation,  181 
Behind  him  lay  the  gray  Azores,  1 
Billings,  Josh  :  Aristokrats,  128 
Blankenburg,  Rudolph  :     Amer- 
ica Alone,  222 
Borah,  W,  E.  :    Freedom  against 
the  Will  to  Power,  310 


Breathes  there  the  man  with  soul  so 

dead,  145 
Brooks,       Elbridge  :        General 

Grant's  Greatest  Victory,  78 
Brooks,     Phillips:      Lincoln     a 

Typical  American,  51 
Burns,  Robert  :   A  Man's  a  Man 

for  A'  That,  123 
Byron,    Lord    George    Gordon: 

Washington,  33 

Carlyle,  Thomas  :  Work,  125 
Carryl,    Guy   Wetmore  :     When 

the  Great  Gray  Ships  Come 

In,  302 
Carry  On !  326 

Character  of  Washington,  The,  33 
Characteristics  of  America,  65 
Columbus  (E.  E.  Hale),  2 
Columbus  (Joaquin  Miller),  1 
Counsels  of  Washington,  37 
Cub  Sawbones,  79 
Curtis,    George   William  :     The 

American  Republic,  97 
The  Moral  Quality  in  Patriotism, 

154 

Declaration  of  Independence,  72 
Democracy  (J.  R.  Lowell),  116 
Democracy  (Harriet  Monroe),  95 
Democracy,  A  Basis  for  World,  320 
Democracy,  Influence  of  the  West 

upon, 112 
Democracy,  Labor  and,  108 
Democracy,  The  Foreigner  in  a,  206 
Democracy,  The  Meaning  of  Ameri- 
can, 286 
Democracy,   The  World  Safe  for, 

261 
Democratic  Ideal  of  Labor,  The,  125 
Dewey,  Orville  :  The  Democratic 

Ideal  of  Labor,  125 
Drake,  J.  R. :  The  American  Flag, 

179 
Draper,  A.  S. :    How  Democracy 

Surpasses  Monarchy,  110 
Drayton,  Michael  :    To  the  Vir- 
ginian Voyage,  3 


333 


334 


Authors,  Titles,  and  First  Lines 


Duty  and  Value  of  Patriotism,  The, 
140 

Emerson,  R.  W.  :  Freedom,  102 
Exodus  for  Oregon,  The,  29 

Faith  in  Our  Government,  73 

Far  Journey,  A,  223 

FiNLEY,  John  H.  :    The  Thirtieth 

Man,  105 
First  Landing  at  Plymouth,  The,  16 
FiSKE,  John:    The  North  and  the 

South  One  in  Their  Origin,  7 
Flag,  The  Makers  of  the,  190 
Flag  Day,  A  Song  for,  184 
Flag  Day  Address,  275 
Flag  Etiquette,  185 
Fleet  at  Santiago,  The,  80 
For,  lo !   the  living  God  doth  bare  His 

arm,  95 
Foreign  Born,  The  Loyalty  of  the, 

209 
Foreign-born     Citizen,     America's 

Cause  and  the,  228 
Foreigner  in  a  Democracy,  The,  206 
Foreseen  in  the  vision  of  sages,  199 
Founding  of  Jamestown,  The,  6 
Franklin,    Benjamin  :       Charac- 
teristics of  America,  65 
Freedom,  102 
Freedom  against  the  Will  to  Power, 

310 
Freedom  all  winged  expands,  102 
Freedom  of  the  Land,  The,  230 
From  Alien  to  Citizen,  217 

Garrison,  W.  L.  :  Liberty  for  All, 
77 

Gettysburg  Address,  The,  62 

Gilder,  R.  W.  :  When  with  Their 
Country's  Anger,  83 

Give  me  white  paper!  2 

Glory  of  Patriotism,  The,  143 

God  Makes  a  Path,  24 

God  of  our  fathers,  known  of  old,  166 

Gordon,  J.  L. :  Wheeler  at  San- 
tiago, 82 

Government  in  the  Interest  of  All, 
72 

Grady,  Henry  W.  :  The  Homes  of 
the  People,  129 

Grant's  Greatest  Victory,  78 

Hale,  E.  E.  :   Columbus,  2 

The  Man  without  a  Country,  145 
Hay,  John:   Liberty,  104 


Hemans,  Felicia  D.  B.  :  The 
Landing  of  the  Pilgrims,  14 

Henry,  Patrick  :  Liberty  or 
Death,  70 

HiBBEN,  John  Grier  :  Martial 
Valor  in  Times  of  Peace,  160 

Higher  Patriotism,  The,  161 

Homes  of  the  People,  The,  129 

How  Democracy  Surpasses  Mon- 
archy, 110 

How  "The  Star-Spangled  Banner" 
Was  Written,  172 

Howe,  Julia  Ward  :  Battle  Hymn 
of  the  Republic,  274 

Hubbard,  Elbert  :  A  Message  to 
Garcia,  133 

Independence  Day,  The  New,  323 

Influence  of  the  West  upon  De- 
mocracy, The,  112 

Ingersoll,  R,  G.  :  Abraham  Lin- 
coln, 54 

Into  the  thick  of  the  fight  he  went, 
pallid  and  sick  arid  wan,  82 

Ireland,  Archbishop  John:  Duty 
and  Value  of  Patriotism,  140 

7s  there  for  honest  poverty,  123 

It's  easy  to  fight  when  everything's 
right,  323 

Jefferson,  Thomas  :  Faith  in  Our 
Government,  73 

Jones,  Sir  William:  What  Con- 
stitutes a  State?    103 

Jordan,  David  Starr  :  A  Basis  for 
World  Democracy,  320 

Kahn,  Otto  H.  :   America's  Cause 
and  the  Foreign-born  Citizen, 
228 
The  Poison  Growth  of  Prussian- 
ism,  259 

Key,  Francis  Scott:  The  Star- 
Spangled  Banner,  170 

Kipling,  Rudyard  :  Recessional 
166 

Labor,  The  Democratic  Ideal  of,  125 
Labor  and  Democracy,  108 
Lamprey,  L.  :    Sayings  of  Lincoln, 

45 
The  Freedom  of  the  Land,  230 
Landing  of  the  Pilgrims,  The,  14 
Lane,  Franklin  K.  :   The  Makers 

of  the  Flag,  190 
Liberty,  104 


Authors,  Titles,  and  First  Lines 


335 


Liberty  Enlightening  the  World,  197 

Liberty  for  All,  77 

Liberty  or  Death,  70 

Lincoln,  Abraham  :    The  Gettysr 

burg  Address,  62 
Lincoln,  Abraham  (Ingersoll),  54 
Lincoln,  Abraham  (Lowell),  43 
Lincoln,  Abraham  (Taylor),  58 
Lincoln,  Sayings  of,  45 
Lincoln  a  Typical  American,  51 
Lincoln's  Birthplace,  56 
Lincoln's  Sympathy,  50 
Lodge,  Henry  Cabot  :  The  Char- 
acter of  Washington,  33 
The  Fleet  at  Santiago,  80 
The    American    Flag    Not    the 
Dollar  Sign,  86 
Long,  long  ago  our  people  made  our 

Land  for  us,  230 
Longfellow,  H.  W.  :   The  Ship  of 

State,  319 
Look  Up,  Look  Forth,  and  On !  318 
Love  of  Country,  145 
Lowell,  J.  R. :  Abraham  Lincoln, 
43 
Democracy,  116 
New  England  Civilization,  18 
The  Present  Crisis,  241 
Washington,  36 
Loyalty  of  the  Foreign  Born,  The, 
209 

Macaulay,  T.  B, :  The  Puritans,  11 
McCain,  H.  P. :  Flag  Etiquette,  185 
McKiNLEY,    William  :     American 

Ideals  Not  Imperialistic,  85 
Makers  of  the  Flag,  The,  190 
Making  of  an  American,  The,  200 
Man's  a  Man  for  A'  That,  A,  123 
Man  without  a  Country,  The,  145 
Marching  down  to  Armageddon,  284 
Martial  Valor  in  Times  of  Peace,  160 
Meaning  of  American  Democracy, 

The,  286 
Mercier,   Cardinal:    The  Glory 

of  Patriotism,  143 
Message  to  Garcia,  A,  133 
Miller,  Joaquin:   Columbus,  1 

The  Exodus  for  Oregon,  29 
Mine  eyes  have  seen  the  glory  of  the 

coming  of  the  Lord,  274 
Monroe,  Harriet  :  Democracy,  95 
Monroe  Doctrine,  The,  74 
Moral  Quality  in  Patriotism,  The, 

154 
My  country,  'tis  of  thee,  139 


Name  of  Old  Glory,  The,  193 
Nesbit,  W.  D.  :    A  Song  for  Flag 

Day,  184 
New  England  Civilization,  18 
New  Independence  Day,  The,  323 
North  and  the  South  One  in  Their 

Origin,  The,  7 

O  beautiful  for  spacious  skies,  158 
O  Captain !     My  Captain !   61 
Ode  to  Columbia,  235 
Oh,  say,  can  you  see,  170 
Old  Glory!   say  who,  193 
Old  Glory,  The  Name  of,  193 
Old  Glory,  The  Story  of,  167 
Once  to  every  man  and  nation,  241 
One  Country,  237 
Our  Kind  of  a  Man,  132 
Our  Pan-American  Policy,  89 
Our  Responsibilities,  314 

Page,     Thomas     Nelson:      The 

Founding  of  Jamestown,  6 
PanrAmerican  Policy,  Our,  89 
Patriotism,  Duty  and  Value  of,  140 
Patriotism,  The  Glory  of,  143 
Patriotism,  The  Higher,  161 
Patriotism,  The  Moral  Quality  in, 

154 
Patriotism,  What  Is,  68 
Peculiarity  of    American  Liberty, 

100 
Pitt,  William  :   Last  Speech,  67 
Poison  Growth  of  Prussianism,  259 
Present  Crisis,  The,  241 
Prussianism,    The   Poison   Growth 

of,  259 
Prussian  Menace,  The,  258 
Prussian     Menace     to     American 

Freedom,  The,  245 
Puritans,  The,  11 

Quaker  of  the  Olden  Time,  The,  23 

Ravage,  M.  E.  :  The  Loyalty  of  the 

Foreign  Born,  209 
Recessional,  166 

Reid,  Sydney  :   Cub  Sawbones,  79 
Right  of  the  People  to  Rule,  316 
RiHBANY,  A.  M. :   A  Far  Journey, 

223 
Riis,   Jacob  :    The  Making  of  an 

American,  200 
Riley,    James    Whitcomb  :      Our 

Kind  of  a  Man,  132 
The  Name  of  Old  Glory,  193 


336 


Authors,  Titles,  and  First  Lines 


Roosevelt,  Theodore  :    America 
First,  233 
Americanism,  91 
Our  Responsibilities,  314 
Right  of  the  People  to  Rule,  316 
With  Firmness  in  the  Right,  256 
Root,  Elihu  :    Our  Pan-American 
Policy,  89 
The  Prussian  Menace  to  Ameri- 
can Freedom,  245 

Santiago,  The  Fleet  at,  80 
Santiago,  Wheeler  at,  82 
Sayings  of  Lincoln,  45 
ScHURZ,  Carl  :   The  Foreigner  in  a 

Democracy,  206 
Scott,     Sir    Walter  :      Love    of 

Country,  145 
Service,  R.  W.  :  Carry  On !  326 
Ship  of  State,  The,  319 
Smith,  S.  F.  :  America,  139 
Stanton,  F.  L.  :   One  Country,  237 
Star-Spangled  Banner,  The,  170 
Stedman,  E.  C.  :   Liberty  Enlight- 
ening the  World,  197 
Steiner,    E.    a.  :     Confessing   the 
Hyphen,  219 
From  Alien  to  Citizen,  217 
Story  of  Old  Glory,  The,  167 
Such  was  he,  our  Martyr-Chief,  43 
Symbol  of  Our  Nation,  The,  181 

Tare  ell,  Ida  M.  :  Lincoln's  Sym- 
pathy, 50 

Taylor,  Bayard  :  America,  199 
Look  Up,  Look  Forth,  and  On! 
318 

Taylor,  Tom  :  Abraham  Lincoln, 
58 

The  breaking  waves  dashed  high,  14 

The  kind  of  a  man  for  you  and  me ! 
132 

They  tell  me.  Liberty !  77 

Thirtieth  Man,  The,  105 

Thou,  too,  sail  on,  319 

'Tis  fine  to  see  the  Old  World,  93 

To  eastward  ringing,  to  westward 
winging,  302 

Turner,  F.  J. :    The  Influence  of 
the  West  upon  Democracy,  J.  12 
Western  Idealism,  25 

Vajansky,  Hurban:  Ode  to  Co- 
lumbia, 235 

Van  Dyke,  Henry  :  America  for 
Me!  93 


Virginian  Voyage,  To  the,  3 

Warden  at  ocean's  gate,  197 
Washington,  George:    Counsels, 

37 
Washington  (Lord  Byron),  33 
Washington  (J.  R.  Lowell),  36 
Watterson,  Henry:    How  "The 

Star-Spangled    Banner"    Was 

Written,  172 
Webster,  Daniel:    Peculiarity  of 

American  Liberty,  100 
West,   Influence  of,  upon  Democ- 
racy, 112 
Western  Idealism,  25 
What  Constitutes  a  State?    103 
What  Is  Patriotism  ?   68 
What  man  is  there  so  bold,  104 
Wheeler  at  Santiago,  82 
When  Freedom,  from  her  mountain 

height,  179 
When  the  Great  Gray  Ships  Come 

In,  302 
When  we  marched  away,  79 
When  with  Their  Country's  Anger, 

83 
Where  may  the  wearied  eye  repose, 

33 
Whitman,  Walt  :  O  Captain !   My 

Captain!   61 
Whittifr,  J,  G. :    The  Quaker  of 

the  Olden  Time,  23 
Williams,  Roger  :    God  Makes  a 

Path,  24 
Wilson,     Woodrow:      A     World 

Peace,  305 
America  First,  230 
Americans  of  Foreign  Birth,  202 
America's  Purpose  in  the  War, 

292 
Flag  Day  Address,  275 
The  Meaning  of  American  De- 
mocracy, 286 
The    New    Independence    Day, 

323 
The  World  Safe  for  Democracy, 

261 
With  Firmness  in  the  Right,  256 
Work,  125 
World  Peace,  A,  302 
World  Safe  for  Democracy,  The,  261 

You  brave  heroic  minds,  3 
You  lay  a  wreath  on  murdered  Lin- 
coln's bier,  58 
Your  flag  and  my  flag!   184 


'■  TFOT?" 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
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>       l40(!t'54S& 
Sip  30  1954 

5lJan'59AT 
^C'D  LD 

MAR    6195.'^LU 
JAN  2  2  1954  LU 

LD  21-100m-9,'48(B399sl6).476 


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XB  66345 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CAUFORNIA  UBRAHY 


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